PMD: Ears
by Mimiga
Summary: She's pretty much always been there since day one. Yet now, a bubbly feeling stirs inside the Snivy whenever he sees that big enthusiastic smile. Or that little hop she does. Or the unmistakable twitch of her huge Fennekin ears whenever she's happy. But the compounding wave of revolution does not wait for even heroes of legend, and soon there may be no time left to fantasize.
1. Courage That Doesn't Save The World

Though the Snivy was nearly awake, the rest of his body still felt like it weighed a million pounds. He allowed the final vague fragments of a dream to dissolve for just a while longer before the prying sunlight beamed through his eyelids and warmed the side of his face. Turning over didn't seem to help, the sun just bounced off the other side of the room. After a few more wishful moments, Vallion finally gave up and opened his eyes to the unrelenting golden glow. A yawn escaped his throat as he obliged muscles yearning to be stretched.

Vallion scanned the room while waiting for his eyes to fully adjust. The space was taken up by a homely clutter, the kind that neither of them really bothered cleaning up since everything was technically organized. The most static objects of the whole room were a simple low-laying desk and a closed wooden chest which had been shoved into a corner. They were even starting to bury the walls with pinned illustrations and maps. It was difficult to make out what location each chart represented at first glance, though there was definitely some noticeable improvement as his eyes traveled across them all. Each place still managed to pull out a seemingly distant memory from his cloudy thoughts.

A soft murmur pulled his attention away from the wall and towards the other bed in the room. The Fennekin inside shifted about for a moment before deliberately tumbling onto the floor with a soft thud. With her back to the ground, she let loose a mighty yawn and stared up towards the Snivy with an tiny inverted smile.

"Mornin', Val," Panne's voice was grainy enough that she almost sounded like a different person. While she cleared her throat, Vallion mirrored the way she rolled out of bed and tumbled down in a similar fashion. Their gazes met in an upside-down world. Another yawn erupted from within him and popped his jaw, but it was her fault this time.

"The briefing's probably soon. Look at how far up the sun is on the wall," The Snivy grumbled, motioning towards the door with his nose.

Panne gave another big stretch before finally rolling upright. "Whatever. We've got time." He half-expected the bell to ring right then and there, but a sleepy peace still seemed to fill the halls.

"Hey, aren't we supposed to start our cartography assignment on the Sand Continent today?" Vallion said as he rose to his feet.

She replied with a sigh before anything else. "Aw man, Sand Continent? I thought it was supposed to be Air." Panne skipped over to the wooden chest in the corner and propped open its lid. "I don't wanna go all the way there just to get sand in my fur for a week. I hope a field assignment pops up before then. I'm really in the mood to track down an outlaw or something."

"Do you know how many other Fennekin would laugh at you for not liking sand in your fur?" Vallion teased her as she climbed head-first into the trunk and disappeared. "Besides, making a map of the world means you gotta get everywhere eventually. Might as well get the bad parts out of the way, right?"

"I know, I know! That doesn't make it much any easier to go out and actually do those bad parts!" Panne's voice was nearly buried beneath the dull jingling sounds of her vigorous rummaging. A cloth bag and several miscellaneous items and orbs were tossed out onto the floor. It seemed more like she was throwing random junk than picking the right tools for the mission ahead. After all, they didn't even know which part of Sand Continent they were going to yet. She must be getting nervous.

Before Vallion could start making sense of the growing mess, the angry chime of morning bell erupted through the compound and vibrated in the walls. After it ended, Buizel gave such an extraordinary groan of exasperation down the hall that it rivaled the bell itself.

"I guess we didn't have much time after all," Panne said as she jumped over the side of the chest, narrowly avoiding the pile of equipment she had created. On the bright side, everything they were going to take with them was probably already in that mound.

The two stuck close together as they left the warmth of their room. Bunnelby and Archen staggered out of their rooms soon after, and following up the rear was Buizel, who had some nasty bags under his eyes. They all filed into the main hall with pursed lips and heavy steps while Ampharos took his usual proud stance in the front. Mawile and Jirachi made their way down the stairs while Dedenne and Swirlix emerged from the opposite hall. One by one, they formed their rows until the whole Expedition Society was present. Ampharos held his pose for a few moments longer before realizing that everyone had been in their places for some time.

"Oh! Uh," the electric type took on a more natural posture and proceeded as usual. "Good morning and welcome everyone to the daily assembly of October 4th! Let's get right into it! I'm sure we're all already aware of the time of year and how it's going to affect our exploration schedules. During the coming winter months the northernmost reaches of the Mist Continent will be completely frozen over and too treacherous to traverse, but this also allows us to more thoroughly chart out the southern lands where the ice would normally be too thin. However, since we're not quite at that point yet, our duty is still to record and chart those areas which will soon be out of reach until glaciers recede next spring, therefore those operations must be enacted immediately..."

Vallion allowed his eyes to wander about the central chamber while individual orders were given out. He didn't get far into spacing off before he was caught on Panne, who continued to stare forward at Ampharos with a disciplined intensity, her giant ears pointed forward and fully attuned to what the chief was saying. The longer he stared, the more he started to notice a fluttering feeling deep inside his chest. Just when did she get so cute? She wasn't really acting any differently than how she usually did, so what changed in just a week that made her seem so damn adorable?

"Panne, Vallion." The Snivy twisted his head around as soon as his name had been called. "I understand that your current assignment has you two mapping out some of the western portions of the Sand Continent. However, I was thinking that we should probably just take that on a little later in the year. The weather's still not quite cold enough to make that particular region as bearable as it could be." Panne let off a tiny cheer that seemed like it was meant to be silent. Vallion's heart did a flip as she realized her own outburst and shrunk back down.

"Furthermore-" Ampharos continued, "-a mission's popped up nearby and I'd like you two to be the ones to tackle it. A report came in last night which spoke of a Larvesta who went missing somewhere in the Poliwrath River area. It seems like a pretty routine rescue, so you should know the drill by now. The physical letter's up in the office if you need more details. This will be your new directive until further notice." Ampharos took a deep breath as he prepared to move onto the next big topic. Meanwhile, Panne could barely contain herself and was nearly bouncing up and down in place.

The morning assembly carried on as usual after that. A few more unsurprising announcements later, the closing creeds rang out through the building, and everyone dispersed to prepare for their days just a little more lively than when they arrived-with the exception of Buizel, who seemed to drift off into the hall like a ghost. Vallion nearly had to run just to keep up with Panne as she skipped back to their room.

As soon as the Fennekin passed under the door frame back into the rich golden light, she erupted into a fit of giggles. "Hah, I guessed it! I can't believe it actually worked! I mean it's not exactly what I said I wanted but it's close enough!" Panne immediately got to reorganizing the pile of tools she had originally created, only this time with much more thought and finesse.

"I mean, you do evolve into a psychic type. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to have some innate future-predicting ability somewhere in your brain," Vallion mused while using his vines to store away all of unnecessary supplies they were going to use to make maps. A chuckle fell out of his mouth. "Hey, maybe your ears are like antenna that pick up on weird future waves. You think that's how-" the Snivy fell silent as a bag slapped against his face and plunged him into darkness.

"Don e'en staht!" Panne managed to say with a looplet between her teeth.

It didn't take too long to fill up their bags, especially in preparation for a mission that was more delicate than it was dangerous. The last space in their packs was reserved for rations, which was something they had to actually go out and buy. After a particularly intense two-out-of-three game of Rock, Fighting, Flying (mostly made so by the distinct lack of rules), it was ultimately decided that Vallion would be stuck with the chore this time around. He begrudgingly snatched up a pouch of coins and started towards the exit.

"See ya later, Val! Get something good this time!" Panne called out after him. The Snivy stuck his tongue out in response, but a big grin worked its way onto his face that betrayed his distaste for the task. It really didn't seem all that bad as long as she was the one he was shopping for. Alright, enough goofing around. Time to get down to business.

Vallion walked out of the compound and straight into a wall of chilly autumn air. The last of the drowsiness in his eyes was immediately vaporized as a sharp shiver ran down his spine. The sigh that fell from his mouth blew into the wind like a puff of smoke. Maybe the Sand Continent would've been a little warmer, he thought. The Snivy pressed on into town, the bag of coins jingling into his ear as he held it up on his shoulder. He could nearly hear the sounds of the town waking up-shifting crates and creaking doors and distant voices, all the while the ocean softly crashed.

The farther Vallion got into Lively Town, the more those noises were given form. Miltank rushed past to make her morning deliveries while Krookodile lagged several stops behind, seemingly unable to keep up. Doduo must have grown restless watching the sheer difference in speed and started doing laps around town themselves. Mienfoo staggered past in Doduo's tracks a few moments later, an anguished look on their face like they've made the terrible decision of challenging the flying type to a race. Even with the weather getting colder, nothing seemed to change around here.

Most shops were still closed, and the ones that did open early were still in the process of doing just that. It'd still be another hour or so before he'd see any tourists or travelers out in these streets. Nevertheless, Kecleon had always opened his stand earlier than anyone else dared to, typically before the sun even came up. Vallion expected a familiar greeting as he approached the shop, but only heard a soft snoring come from behind the counter. One of the many difficulties of trying to appeal to the shopping habits of adventurers, no doubt. He unraveled a vine and tapped on the hard wood of the counter.

"H-huh?! Oh!" Kecleon snorted as his head shot up. He wiped away the drool from his mouth and waved to greet his first customer of the day in one swift motion. "Ah! Good morning, Vallion! What can I do for you at this early hour?"

"Morning, Kecleon. Panne and I just got assigned a rescue mission and I was wondering what kind of rations you have today. Or just like, food in general. We're not going far," Vallion delivered accordingly.

"Hmm. You get food duty again?" Kecleon asked. Vallion nodded in response. "She played Arceus during your game of Rock, Fighting, Flying did she?" The Snivy nodded once more, this time with more vigor. Kecleon gave a hearty chuckle and stepped back to search through his wares. "No offense, but it's real cute how you actually humor her every time she does that. Now, what kind of meals are you looking for today?"

"We're not going too far-it's maybe just like one night of camp on the east side of the mountains and that's it. Any fruit we get would definitely survive the trip, and Panne said to get something good so... what kind of berries do you have? Sitrus?" Vallion stood as tall as he could and lifted the bag of coins up onto the counter.

Kecleon smiled, but his brow had furrowed a bit. The shopkeeper seemed to take an unnecessarily long time to search through his goods, thoroughly checking far more places than berries should be. With a dismissive huff, he finally stood back up to face Vallion, his hands empty and his frown full.

"I must apologize, but it seems we're stark out of, well, basically food altogether. Our next shipment was supposed to be one from a farm just past the mountains, but that was supposed to be in two days ago. I wonder what's keeping it..." Kecleon pushed the money back to Vallion's side of the counter.

"Huh?" Vallion hesitated to retrieve the coins. "That's never happened before, has it? I've never heard of one of your shipments being that late."

Kecleon nodded sadly. "They rarely ever are, which makes me especially nervous. You're going to that general area on your mission, correct?"

"Yeah, Poliwrath River," the Snivy replied.

"Promise to be careful out there, will you? If even my most reliable supplies aren't coming in, something could be going horribly wrong on that side of the mountains. I won't be having my favorite customers getting into trouble! Anyway, you're going to have to find someone else to provide for your trip."

Vallion finally wrapped a vine around his coins, a nervous feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "Alright, I'll keep it in mind. We'll try to find out what happened with your shipment while we're over there. Thanks anyways."

The Snivy exchanged goodbyes and walked off. but there wasn't really a destination he had in mind. He just wandered off down the street with the coins on his shoulder while he contemplated all his options. Kangaskhan Cafe provided food, sure, but it wasn't somewhere he could just buy raw ingredients. Especially if Kecleon was out of stock-no doubt Kangeskhan was hording all she could for the coming business that would bring. The Society's larder was always overstocked to a degree, so it's possible he'd be able to borrow something from there, but that meant dealing with Swirlix. Worse yet, someone was going to have to explain to her that there wasn't going to be anything fresh in the market today. It was possible that they could just search for naturally-growing food while they were camping, but he already knew not to rely on dicey tactics like that. Nobody should leave for an expedition empty-handed and expect a pile of apples to be waiting them at their destination. Granted, there was no way they wouldn't find at least something decent growing in the woods around here, but it was just the principle of it.

Vallion turned his head towards the vastness of the ocean and sniffed at the briny air. Down at the docks, the silhouettes of burly workers rotated huge crates with ease and loaded them onto a single lonely ship. He was going to make Panne happy, no matter what. That meant there was no choice other than going through Swirlix. Resigned to his fate, the Snivy started towards the compound once more.

A huge wave of warmth washed over Vallion as he stepped back into the building, causing his scales to sting and his eyes to water. He took a deep breath of the stuffy air, continued through the eastern wing in silence, and stuck his head through the doors of the mess hall. It seemed completely empty at first, but the munching sound that faintly echoed through the room gave Swirlix away. The fairy sat beside the open larder, surrounded by a clipboard and an open jar of salted nuts. It must have been inventory day again, meaning there was going to be a lot less inventory by the time Swirlix was done counting.

"Um.. Swirlix?" Vallion spoke up.

Several moments passed before the fairy finally noticed she was no longer alone."Hm?" Swirlix swallowed what was in her mouth and turned her head. "Oh, hey Vallion! What're you doing in here this early? Hopefully you're not in for a snack."

"Ah, yeah...About that-" the Snivy took a deep breath. "-I went out to get some rations for that rescue mission, but as it turns out, Kecleon's shipment hasn't come in and he's basically out of everything. I was wondering if it would maybe sorta be possible to put some money down for later and take something from the larder." Vallion gulped and awaited an explosive response.

Swirlix instead just made a shrugging motion and crammed another mouthful of nuts into her maw. After a few seconds, she suddenly stopped chewing. "Wait a minute," she gravely swallowed, eyes wide with what could almost be described as terror. "If Kecleon is out of food, and the next place you checked was here...that means you're not going to be the last one!" She gasped. "My larder! You're all coming to raid my larder!" With a speed so great it could barely be caught with the naked eye, Swirlix dove head-first past the larder door. Metal clattered, thick glass clacked together, and what followed sounded like it was out of a nightmare.

"Ah-Swirlix! Save some for us!" Vallion emptied his bag of coins onto the floor to make room for anything he could grab and plunged into the war-zone. He could scarcely tell what was going on while inside on account of the rampaging fairy. so rather than pick and choose, he simply reached out with his vines and scooped up whatever seemed edible to the touch. He had only filled the bag halfway before a fluffy wall of force collided square into his chest and sent him spiraling into the mess hall.

The larder door slammed shut while Vallion laid stunned against the hard floor. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Ow... What the heck was that for?"

When the Snivy looked up, Swirlix was busy activating the sixteen number combination lock she had installed onto the larder door, despite the fact that it was common knowledge that every single number in the combination was just 5. "Hah! Now they'll have to get through me!" she shouted and puffed her chest out triumphantly, crumbs still lining the sides of her smirk.

Vallion struggled to a stand, snatching up the bag he'd filled with whatever his hands could find. "Thanks, I guess. This'll probably work for now." he muttered and twisted towards the exit before anything else could go wrong. It was necessarily pretty way of doing it, but he'd at least managed to find something to bring back to Panne. Depending on what he had actually grabbed, there-

"Wait!" Swirlix called out from behind him. The Snivy froze in place, bag held tightly against his chest. He was expecting to have to fight for the scraps he'd taken, but instead the fairy started to pester him about a different issue entirely. "I've been meaning to ask what's been bothering you, but I keep forgetting to ask!"

Vallion tilted his head, but kept the food behind his back just in case. "Huh? What do you mean? Nothing's been bothering me."

"Ooh, no no no. Don't think you can play that game with me. I know everything that goes on around here. Maybe you think that Ampharos only keeps me around because I'm a good cook, but there's nobody here better than me at reading moods and knowing things I'm not supposed to know!" Swirlix closed the distance between them to an uncomfortable measure.

"I-uh... How do you figure?" the Snivy stammered and took a step backwards. His insides started to churn. Was this about Panne? Had he really been that obvious this whole time? If so, how many other people figured this out before even he did? What if Panne already knew?

"Oh please. I've learned how to read the soul of the dinner table. There are specific ways people eat, how fast they eat-even choose to put on their plate. It's all a language that can only be read by the most powerful of chefs. By eating my food, you've already lost the choice to hide anything from me." The fairy smiled proudly from cheek to cheek. Vallion felt his face start getting hot. There's no way she could know, right? This all has to be a bluff. You could probably get the truth out of anyone if you bluffed your way into getting them to admit.

Swirlix huffed impatiently in his silence. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me what's the matter?"

"Huh? Oh, no thanks. It's not important." As Vallion turned to walk away, Swirlix swung around and stood in his path with the same supernatural quickness she used to rocket into the larder.

"Hey, you're not getting out of this that easy! Gimme the news or I'll be forced to take legal action!" her shouts echoed into halls, but it didn't seem like there was anyone out there to hear them. Not that anyone would be particularly quick to respond to Swirlix yelling in the mess hall. Especially on inventory day.

"Wait, but why would I be legally obligated to tell you anything? Look, alright? We really need to be on our way to Poliwrath River soon. It's a rescue mission, I shouldn't be wasting any time." Vallion tried to step around Swirlix, but she matched his movements exactly, never budging even an inch.

"I make you dinner, now shush with the questions and start with the answers! It's my other duty to ensure all society members not only have a full stomach, but a full conscience! Er-an empty conscience? I don't remember how it's supposed to go but you're still not allowed to leave!" Swirlix did not move. There was no getting around with brute force, nobody in the whole Society had a stronger posture than her. She could balance six plates on her head while eating an apple and singing. Stopping him from getting past? That was nothing.

Vallion glanced around the room, the fluttering in his stomach getting stronger. What would sound believable? Maybe he still felt down after someone insulted his sense of fashion last night?.. No, absolutely not. Swirlix wasn't going to fall for something stupid like that. Maybe he could take some of the food out of his bag and use it as a distraction? Ah, but how much usable stuff did he actually grab when in the dark? What if he just grabbed like six salt shakers and they were all sitting on the bottom?

"Come on!" the fairy exclaimed impatiently. "What's the hold-up? Do you honestly think I would tell anyone? If I was actually forced to tell I'd probably just fill my mouth first and then say it. My mouth's usually full, honestly. Doesn't really make much of a difference."

"...Fine," after several silent moments, Vallion finally threw his arms down and surrendered. Another silence fell as the Snivy was forced to search for the right words to express himself. The heat on his face was already starting to become unbearable and he hadn't even said anything yet. "Hmm. It's just- Well...It's just Panne, I guess."

"Oooh, are you two fighting?" Swirlix chimed.

"What? No! It's nothing like that!" he tried to say, but was cut off almost immediately.

"Listen, Vallion. When a girl's mad at you for whatever reason, it's not that hard to turn around! You just need to do something meaningful for her, like prepare a nice dinner! Candlelight, rose petals, smooth music, everything lathered in honey mago sauce and sprinkled with-"

"Swirlix, we're getting along just fine!" Vallion had to shout just to snap her out of the trance.

The fairy stammered and wiped the drool from her face. "Huh? Then what the heck could possibly be wrong? Did you steal her lunch or something?"

"I- agh! No! I think I just...like her, alright?! Like, the other kind of like! The big kind! None of your weird theories that involve food!" Vallion twisted away, an unbearable heat spreading all throughout the scales of his face. His panicked eyes searched the room for anything at all to distract him from the strange knot in his chest. If he hadn't been holding the bag, his hands would surely be fidgeting.

Swirlix gave him a blank stare for what seemed like an eternity. After watching Vallion squirm in embarrassment, she finally grinned and prepared to offer her most professional response. "What?"

"What?! What do you mean what?! I told you exactly what's wrong with me!" the Snivy couldn't bear to look anywhere but the floor at his feet. "I mean, it's not like she's all that different than before, but something just...kinda clicked at some point. It's getting harder and harder to concentrate and I don't know what to do."

The fairy blinked slowly before beginning again. "Oh this is not at all what I expected. Vallion, sweetie, I really don't know how else to tell you this, but everyone already thought you two were together."

Vallion's eyes shot up. "I-Huh? What do you mean?"

"Yep. It's been that way for a while, actually. Ampharos was the first one to come up with calling your team 'The Lovebirds' when you guys aren't around. Buizel gets super jealous that you two are so close and pouts about it. I've even heard people in town talk about it. I'm more surprised you didn't actually notice." Swirlix was smiling, but Vallion wanted to curl up in a corner for the rest of his life.

The fairy finally noticed his discomfort. "...Oh! Don't worry, don't worry! You've come to exactly the right place to ask for romantic advice, let me tell you! If anyone knows the quickest way to a girl's heart, it's me!" Swirlex puffed out her chest once more.

Vallion hesitated before figuring he was meant to guess. "Um...Is it...through her sto-"

"Through her stomach!" the fairy shouted with glee. "When you get back from that mission of yours, I'm going to have you whip up a huge dinner just for the two of you! I just need you to think about the specifics-stuff like the candlelight, rose petals, smooth music, the entire larder..." while Swirlix fantasized about the costly romantic dinner nobody would serve her, Vallion was suddenly reminded that he had a mission to get back to. That, and he would very much like to exit this conversation as soon as possible.

"Yeah, I'm heading off now," the Snivy said as he deftly skirted around the drooling roadblock. It wasn't until he was partway out the door that she noticed anything.

"Wuh- but I haven't even told you about Mawile's fanfiction yet!" she called out after him, but he was already gone.

"No way!" Vallion hastily replied before taking off down the corridor as quick as his tiny legs could carry him. Geez, what a stressful morning! His heart was already fluttering enough these days as it was, he didn't need that kind of knowledge added onto it. To just imagine that everyone thinks...Agh! None of that! He had the rations they needed, and that was that.

Panne has probably been waiting for quite a while with how long that all took. As Vallion passed into the main chamber he noticed that someone had collapsed in the middle of the floor and was snoring loudly. Buizel just couldn't make it any farther into the morning, it seemed. With a chuckle the Snivy continued on his way, imagining how Dedenne would react to the sight once she came down from the office. After a few seconds of arguing with an unconscious body, she'd probably jump-start Buizel with way more electricity than was necessary. Vallion almost wished he'd be around to see it all unfold.

As expected, Panne had already packed their supplies and now sat patiently gazing out the window, seemingly deep in thought about something. Shortly after the Snivy had entered the room, she finally noticed his presence and turned right around with bright, smiling eyes. So much for slowing his heartbeat.

"Oh my gosh, where have you been?! Not even I get distracted for so long when I get food duty!" The Fennekin stood up and nudged one of the two packs open. "And that counts the one time when a Talonflame crashed into the middle of the town and caused like six house fires."

"I still only barely believe that actually happened. There's no way anyone could clean up that many scorch marks in the time it takes for me to get ready." Vallion held up the pouch he'd used to grab what he assumed would be their rations, and suddenly realized that it was far more empty than it seemed. "Okay so Kecleon's next shipment of any food at all hasn't come in yet, so I was forced to raid our own kitchen while Swirlix was still inside. Frankly I'm surprised I made it out alive."

Panne stifled a giggle. "That makes me so glad I won our game this morning. I don't understand why more people don't play Arceus, it's such a good move." Panne stepped aside so that he could stow away whatever it was he had actually taken from the larder. It was something he'd just have to worry about later by this point. They should have already left by now.

"So what's the deal with our route? Still a little over a full day like usual?" Vallion spoke as he fiddled with straps of his bag.

"Yep. If we left now we should get there at about midday tomorrow," Panne was able to fasten a pack to her side in just the time it took him to undo and readjust one of his buckles, caught on a pang of perfectionism. "Why was Kecleon's shipment late, anyways? I've never even heard of that happening before."

"That's cuz it doesn't happen," the Snivy said as he finally fastened the straps to an comfortable, symmetrical degree and slipped the bag onto his back. "I dunno. He said we should probably be extra careful around the area, just in case something went down."

"Ooh, that sounds neat actually!" Panne beamed as she restlessly started towards the door. "A rescue mission's great and all, but this one sounds maybe a little too boring. Could you imagine how much more interesting this could be? What if there were some territorial dragons that accidentally took their fight into the valley or something? Could you imagine how crazy that would be?"

Vallion simply shrugged and followed her out. As much as he'd rather not have to fight angry dragons, it was excruciatingly adorable how worked up she was getting. At that thought, he concluded that this was going to be a very, very long mission.

...

* * *

A Serperior diligently slithered through the canopy, weaving in between branches so effortlessly that the sound of his movements could easily have been mistaken for the wind as it rustled leaves. Occasionally stopping to listen, he tracked his way towards a commotion that had broken out somewhere nearby. The shouts grew louder as he approached unnoticed. The Serperior glared at the confrontation from above, his fiery eyes taking in all they could.

"A fool! A fool is all that it makes you!" was the first clear thing he heard upon stopping. The three Poliwrath from earlier stood across from each other, two to one. At the feet of the more populated side was a young Poliwag who looked like they were about to cry. Both sides were still bleeding from their encounter with the Serperior from earlier, and it seemed nobody had made a single attempt at dressing their wounds. The pokemon seemed to think that their heated debate was more important than caring for themselves and healing.

"How DARE you call me a fool when you're standing there as broken as I am?!" shouted the Poliwrath who stood alone. "How can you possibly understand true strength when all you do in defeat is kick and scream like a spoiled child? Have you no dignity at all?!"

"We are not the ones who have thrown away our dignity, brother. You've already bargained with a devil just because they have words and strength. You would sooner sell your family and pride than grow a spine." the leftmost Poliwrath shot back with a cold, calm tone.

The lone side was shaking with anger. "Sold?! You sell yourselves to death and defeat! There's far more at stake than pride for someone who doesn't know when to bow their head with grace! And you're all far too stubborn to even make an attempt to understand their words! That's stupidity, not pride! That's the kind of mindset that kings and fools die with!"

"Listen to yourself," the rightmost sneered with crossed arms. "You're already lost. They may carry promises of a certain future, but they are not us. They do not think like us, they do not act like us, and they seek to change the very fundamentals of our lives for their own gain. Would you still side with such a pretender even if it meant our home would be lost to their rabid ideals?"

"You both fear change more than you fear death. Perhaps I am the only one of us who isn't a coward," the lone Poliwrath growled. Their rage reignited, the leftmost shouted a series of curses and prepared to charge at their brother, only to be held back by the other Poliwrath that stood at their side.

"Save your energy, idiots! Any more fighting and we'll tear each other apart, and there is no winners if we all are dead!" the only sensible Poliwrath cried out. The leftmost seemed to understand their dire situation enough to yield, if only for the moment.

"Fine," they said and turned away. "But we will return, and there will be a victor. We will not be alone. What is rightfully ours will be taken back, and we will fill the river with the blood of this narcissist and his fellow traitors. If you won't stand with us, then you will join them."

"This is exactly what they were talking about! Don't you see? You would turn so quickly on a brother, and for what? What do you hope to gain from spreading bloodshed like this?! What was so magical about our life before that you would tear my throat out over something that barely affects us?!" the lone Poliwrath tried desperately to reason with his comrades, but all he earned was a scoff.

"Now you go and preach their choir? Enough of this," the rightmost muttered as he turned heel and began to painfully limp away. The Poliwag seemed to anxiously look both ways before ultimately deciding to chase after the two Poliwrath. Soon they all would disappear into the thickness of the forest.

Everything went silent again. The Serperior finally sighed through his nose a breath, it felt like he had been holding his breath for hours. "I should have expected this. Nothing about this was going to be easy," he whispered to himself once certain he was alone. He started to traverse the canopy once more, moving in one fluid motion through branches and towards where his allies would be waiting.


	2. The Rules of Love and War

"Hey Val, look just up ahead!"

The gentle breeze blew on through the evening, whistling a quiet tune as it filtered through the nearly-barren branches of autumn trees. The few leaves that remained stuck to their branches glowed a fiery red and orange-a combination which the sky would soon envy and take for itself.

Panne pointed her nose towards the mountains just beyond the treetops. Two of the smaller cliffs conjoined at a much lower point than the rest of the range, effectively splitting the impassable wall of rock in two and revealing a great deal of the sky behind it. This was the easiest northern passage to scrape between the two halves of Water Continent, used almost daily by travelers and traders alike. It was known as Sunrise Pass, mostly because the first spots the morning sun would touch on the western side were within its crevice.

"Took long enough. Finally time to camp," Panne's voice stood out against the serenity as they stepped away from the beaten path and into a clearing littered with crunchy fallen leaves. The Fennekin glanced towards a tree so tall that its spindly branches arched over half the open sky from the spot they were standing. It was no wonder why there were so many piles of leaves just in this particular grove. The naked tree itself twisted with splendor like a roof of lightning, casting jagged shadows all across the clearing. Given they put in a little effort to clean up a spot to start a fire, this was definitely a great spot to stay for the night.

Despite the sea of leaves, the two managed to reach the base of the wooden monolith that towered over the surrounding forest. Just the width of the trunk alone seemed three times that of any of the trees nearby. The bark which covered its hardened flesh was craggy with age and generously coated with patches of green moss. This tree had seen its fair share of autumns, but one couldn't help but wonder when its last would be. How long did trees like this even live for, anyway? Regardless, its limbs were so high that it was very likely safe to build a fire beneath them.

Panne immediately collapsed into a deep pile of leaves and nearly disappeared completely. A contented sigh came from within the bump she had made. "Ugh, I'm so hungry. We should have had breakfast. Why didn't we eat breakfast? I can't believe I forgot to eat breakfast."

"You were too excited to leave. Besides, if Kecleon's out of stock, then I don't think there are many shipments coming in from anywhere besides the docks. It's probably a riot back there." Vallion jumped backwards into a decently sized mound and was swallowed up in a satisfying crash. A little itchy, but surprisingly comfortable with how much distance they'd made today. Maybe they could press a bunch of leaves down once they've cleared a space out and make a bed out of them.

"I wish we didn't have to miss the cafe by leaving so early. It's just impossible to get used to traveling on an empty stomach," The Fennekin's voice seemed distant and muffled while they were both buried. "I mean, I know traveling on a full stomach isn't such a good idea either, but what if we had a way to bake stuff while out here? Like not an oven but a kiln or something? Imagine the kinds of stuff we could end up scrounging up to cook out here. We'd be like, culinary nomads."

"Culinary nomads," Vallion mouthed the words to himself and closed his eyes. It became so quiet that the breeze was the only thing he could concentrate on. A sigh fell from his mouth as the tension in his muscles melted away, giving way to a satisfying ache. There was a rustling in some nearby leaves followed by grunt of relaxation as Panne stretched out in her own little pile. The Snivy couldn't help but think about how her little paws splayed out as she relaxed, chin flat up towards the sky while her arms curled up over her chest. The urge to suddenly crawl over and join her pushed its way into the forefront of his imagination. He immediately put a stop to the fantasy before it could grow into something too exciting. Now was absolutely not the time to have those kinds of thoughts, especially not with a mission on their hands. She probably didn't even like him in that way.

It didn't take much longer for Vallion to grow restless from that point on. Before he had any other unwelcome daydreams, the Snivy sat up and brushed himself off, rested just enough to finish off the last of their duties for the day. After all, they still had to make camp before anything else. That meant clearing out the area, building the pit for a fire and finding its fuel, and finding water-and maybe some late-growing fruit if they were lucky. He still didn't really trust whatever he had snagged from the larder, so some insurance wouldn't be too awful.

As usual, Vallion was going to be the one gathering up tinder, since having both vines and hands made it much easier to carry things. Panne's job was to fix up the camping site and get everything settled in, not to mention make sure nobody tries to swipe their stuff while all of this is going on. It wouldn't be the first time they've lost entire bags of supplies just because a wildling saw something shiny.

After some loud and silly farewells, Vallion swiped up both their canteens and pressed into the brush, squinting against the barrage of twigs and leaves. His eyes immediately started to pick out landmarks by which he'd be able to find his way back. The huge tree was visible through the skeletal canopy for a while, but soon he was forced to find other prominent features in the woods. Gnarled holes in trunks that kinda looked like hurricanes, cliffs that curved in certain specific ways, and blooming autumn flowers that seemed to bravely press on into the winter months. Each landmark was meticulously listed in the Snivy's thoughts as he traveled deeper into the chilly forest.

Vallion used one vine to sift beneath the bed of leaves for sizable twigs and branches, then gathered them into the other vine in one big bundle. Most of the kindling he found seemed a little too damp, but there wasn't much that could be done. It probably rained every other day around these parts, especially at this time of year. All Panne had to do was heat the moisture out of the wood before it became usable again, but he really wished she didn't have to go through all that extra effort.

While searching for any sign of green among the endless red ceiling, Vallion noticed that the sky grew more purple by the second. The sun had dipped behind the mountains to the west and left the woods in one giant shadow. What little scraps of light came down from the vibrant sky were all he had left to see by. Was he really going to have to turn back so soon? It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since he left! Maybe winter was closer than he thought.

Thankfully enough, the Snivy managed to pick up on a gentle burbling coming from the bottom of a decline. He lowered himself down the slope using his free vine as a rope. Vallion pressed through the final bushes and stepped onto a shore of gravel. The stream itself wasn't too wide, but it was so clear that he could still see distortions made by what little light was left. His eyes went upwards to the opposite shore and caught on something even more interesting. Some of the trees looked like a different species to what was common, and better yet, there was still a little bit of ripe greenness in their leaves. Everything he needed all in one place!

The pebbles crunched beneath his weight as the Snivy drew closer, but even at the very edge of the water he couldn't quite see what the fruit exactly were. He sighed and took the canteens from his back, popped the lids open, and dunked them into the stream. The mountain water was shockingly cold compared to the valley air, and the fact that he had to swim through it twice just to get to dinner made him grimace. Vallion closed the caps on the canteen and found a concave spot to store them and all the kindling he'd found. He turned back to the water and sucked a deep breath into his chest. It was only going to get darker the longer he waited, so it was best not to wait at all! Pebbles kicked up as he dived into the current.

The cold struck Vallion like an electric shock, leaving him stunned in the water for a brief moment. He opened his eyes and pushed off the mud beneath his feet. surging forward against the current in one swift motion. The leaf of his tail acted almost like a fin as he pushed onward in one continuous serpentine movement. The stream wasn't actually that wide to begin with, but overcoming the current alone made him gasp for breath as he crawled up onto the crumbling gravel of the opposite shore. He allowed the excess water to roll off his scales for a good few moments before standing up. He probably would've even felt refreshed if it didn't feel like he just swam through a glacier.

After a few seconds of shivering, the Snivy looked up towards the greenish tree and trudged across the shore. Now that he was closer, it was easier to tell that the odd shapes sprouting from between the leaves were plums-or at least a fruit that looked suspiciously similar to a plum. Either way, he definitely had a better feeling about these things than the random items he piled into his bag back at the Society. Vallion wrapped his vines around the lowest sturdy branch and began to retract, lifting himself into the air like a winch. Once high enough, he pulled himself onto the branch and began to twist the juiciest-looking plums off their stems and let them drop to the ground below.

A snarling hiss erupted from somewhere close above his head. Vallion immediately fell from the branch in shock, barely managing to catch himself with the vines he still had wrapped around it. The leaves rustled and shook, and from the darkness came six spindly legs. "Sssstay away from my tree!" The Ariados screeched.

"Alright, alright! You win! I'll stay away from your tree!" Vallion stammered as he lowered himself to the ground. "But, uh...What about those trees over there?" He pointed towards several of the other plum trees that leaned over the shore.

"No! They are all my tree! Now go away!" The Ariados assured that it had gotten its point across by shooting a poisonous barb inches past the Snivy's face. Vallion took the hint and quickly dropped to the rocks below with a crunch. He snatched up all four of the plums he managed to pluck and left the bug type to hiss and grumble.

Tossing the fruit over the span of the river was a simple enough task, but the thought of having to cross it again left Vallion procrastinating at the water's edge. The cool autumn breeze still felt like tiny needles dragging across his scales from the last time, and he had to make the whole trek back like this. The Snivy took two steps back and sniffled. The sooner he got back, the sooner he'd be able to lay out in front of a fire and be done with it. He sucked in as deep of a breath as his lungs could fit and rushed forward, diving in without a second thought.

Vallion crawled up onto the original shore and spat out all the gritty water that had somehow gotten into his mouth. Swearing under his breath at the cold, he gathered up the scattered plums and washed them in the stream before shoving them into his bag. He took the kindling into his vines and clamored up the side of the bank. He went through the list of landmarks he had compiled on his way here as he climbed, making positively sure he knew the route back piece by piece. This wasn't even a particularly complicated forest to travel through, he just wanted to get back as soon as possible.

Before long Vallion began to recognize his surroundings a little better than just tiny landmarks. He passed by a warped old tree that bent in the same direction he came, then climbed over a mossy log whose enormous roots seemed to point east. A murky pond which had once held a sleeping Surskit was now completely empty, which likely had something to do with the fresh tracks in the mud. Did something scare it away or was it a predator that managed to sneak up on it? Vallion nearly jumped four feet into the air as a sullen growl broke the silence, only to realize that it was his own stomach that made the sound. He sighed at himself and marched even faster through the piles of fallen leaves, more than thankful that Panne wasn't here to see that. Although he probably wouldn't have minded all too much if she decided to tease him about it. She'd probably think it was cute more than anything-No no, none of those thoughts. Absolutely none of them.

By the time Vallion had made it back to camp, the stars were already out and there was barely anything left of the sunset. The clearing they'd chosen to set up camp had started to look like an actual field. A proper fire pit had been expertly dug out and lined with stones. Even all the leaves were moved into two huge piles at the base of the giant tree. Panne had even dried and flattened the ground where they would sit in front of the fire. He couldn't have been gone for more than half an hour, too.

Panne's ears swiveled around as the Snivy pressed through the bushes. She whipped around so fast that her tail should've came loose and fly off into the distance. "You're back! I got camp all ready! Did you manage to find anything?"

Vallion spoke as he unloaded his bag beside the fire pit. "Yeah, there were some nice plum trees across a creek. Had to go through an Ariados to get anything but I managed well enough."

"... Val, you're shivering. Did you seriously swim through the water to get them? It's almost winter!" Panne's ears fell sideways as she placed a paw on his forehead. "Oh my gosh, you're freezing! I really need to get this fire running soon, don't I?

The Snivy tried to shrug, but the gesture was indiscernible from the shivering. "The trees were on the other side and it was getting late, so I just kinda...took the fastest route over. Probably could've thought it out a little more before diving straight in, though. I mean, I'm totally fine anyways." He dumped all the firewood he had collected into the middle of the pit.

"Fine? You're not going to be fine if you catch a cold!" the Fennekin jumped into the pit and immediately started to dry out the damp pieces of tinder.

Vallion sighed and slumped to the ground. There was no arguing with Panne while she was worried, that's for sure. "I can't catch something I already am." He muttered to no one in particular.

The Fennekin swung straight around. "What? Are you sick already? Oh jeez, I didn't even pack for this!" The concern in her voice stuck in Vallion's chest like an arrow.

"Wha- No, no! I'm fine. It's-Whatever. It was a dumb joke anyway." Vallion assured her and motioned to continue on with the fire.

She stared at him for a moment longer before finally turning back to the firewood. "Alright, if you say so. You better not get sick, though."

Flashes of color and light erupted across the campsite as Panne blasted the tinder dry. Each controlled burst of fire sent waves of heat across the Snivy's scales, prickling against the numbness that had already settled in. He happily sprawled out on his back while Panne worked her magic. After a few minutes, the violent flashes of fire were replaced by a gentle, flickering glow. Vallion sighed and crawled a little closer, gathering up every drop of warmth he could and letting it soak in. It was difficult to believe how cold it really was out here.

"Can we eat yet? Any longer and I'm going to implode!" Panne shouted over the crackling of the fire. Now that the Snivy was warm again, he suddenly remembered the gnawing pains in his stomach. Vallion sluggishly made his way over to their bags and began to unfasten the many knots that held it closed. Panne was practically bouncing up and down behind him, peering over his shoulder at every opportunity. "Ah. finally!"

Vallion opened the sack he had filled from the larder and peered inside. After a few moments, a rainbow of emotions began to pass over his face: confusion, disappointment, and finally a tiny glimmer of amusement. "Yeah, that's what I figured. It's such a good thing I found those plums."

"What? Val, what's in there? Lemme see already!" The Fennekin circled around and tried to stuff her face into the bag. Vallion pulled away and laughed, pulling something from the deepest part of the sack before dumping the rest onto the ground. Out clattered a fork, a rubber ball, two crumpled up wads of paper which he could only assume were trashed orders, and the broken shell of a chestnut.

Panne was speechless. At least ten seconds ticked by before she kicked at the rubber ball. "Wha... What was this even doing in the larder?" she said. Vallion chuckled. "No, I'm serious! Like, why would there even be a rubber ball anywhere the kitchen in the first place? Where did it even come from? You grabbed all this off a shelf in the larder, didn't you? Swirlix had to have put this in there on purpose, right?!"

The Snivy held up the object he pulled from the bag with both hands. It was just a single roll of bread, but he clutched it like it was a precious relic, its rough texture casting dramatic shadows in the firelight. "I ventured into the larder of the gluttony demon, your highness, but this was all I could steal. Our whole kingdom is riding on the fate of this single roll-No, this magnificent example of baking prowess! The future of this land is determined now by the might of yeast and flame," he spoke as deeply as his tiny vocal chords could go. His cheeks hurt from the grin he was suppressing. As he knelt down and presented the legendary roll, Panne failed to stifle a giggle. "Hark! Thine stomach shall be blessed by this hallowed piece of baked dough! Dine upon its dry, spongy flesh and lead our kingdom towards salvation!"

"Of course, Sir Val," Panne regained enough composure to play along, dropping to her front legs and bowing her head, "I, daughter to the throne and master of fire, accept this mighty responsibility. I have trained my whole life for just this moment alone."

"Then feast-" he split the roll in two. "-and become whole. Both your Pops and your people are depending on you." Vallion touched her half of the roll to each her shoulders, then let her bite down on the bread. They both chewed thoughtfully on their halves. The bread was stale and tasteless, and it was so dry that he immediately became thirsty upon swallowing it. Such was the price of power, so it seemed.

Panne broke character with a sigh. "Now that we have yeast-based superpowers, can we start eating those plums already?"

There was two for each of them, but with the way Panne bounded towards them it was almost like she was about to swallow the four of them whole. She still kicked two behind her and flashed him a smile before going to town. As soon as the Snivy bit down, a flood of sweetness rushed over his tongue and escaped out the corner of his mouth. They were perfectly ripe, which was probably incredibly lucky this far into the year. Panne had already finished off her two by the time Vallion had made his way around to the second. Was she still hungry? Maybe he should have grabbed more, or have given her the third plum...

With full bellies and heavy eyes, they both collapsed onto dried spots of grass in front of the fire, soaking in the heat in relative silence. Vallion squinted up at the emerging stars, a dumb grin stuck on his face. This was exactly the kind of feeling he traveled for. Exploration and discovery were cool and all, but there was absolutely no coming close to moments like this. The Snivy turned his head just far enough to glance at Panne, whose half-closed eyes were stuck firmly to the night sky. Well, it probably wouldn't be the same feeling without her, anyways. That was kind of the point.

Vallion turned back to the stars and started to mentally draw lines between them. There were definitely shapes he could make out, but nothing really made a full picture like it would for someone who really knew the constellations. His grin started to fade. He did know the constellations at some point, didn't he? Maybe back before the time his memories got erased? It hadn't occurred to him until now that he's never asked Panne to point them out. Despite it being no big deal in the grand scheme of things, Vallion suddenly felt like he was totally out of place. Anyone from this world could look up at this sky and point out the pictures that the stars make. Anyone but him.

"Aw man, the fire's already almost out!" Panne whined. Looking back to earth, Vallion saw that there wasn't much left but a tiny blaze and a few cinders. He was so focused on the sky that he hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten. Maybe he should have gathered more firewood, as well.

"Hm. Oh well," Vallion yawned. "At least we don't have to worry about putting it out, huh?"

The Fennekin caught his yawn before she could manage to reply. "Whatever. We'll need to get up early, anyways. The more daylight we have to search for Larvesta, the better of a chance we're going to have."

The dim light of the moon was the only thing that guided their feet as they stumbled towards the base of the huge tree, its skeletal branches casting jagged shadows over them. The piles of leaves Panne had assembled earlier stood firmly against the breeze, all up until they both jumped in one after the other. After the shrill crash of leaves faded, there was a brief quiet, then an almost constant sound of crinkling as they tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in their scratchy beds.

"Night, Val. Get lots of rest for tomorrow, 'kay?" Panne's voice got muffled as she sunk deeper into her pile. Vallion hummed and curled up into a ball, duly aware of how cool the air was and how slightly itchy this bed felt. He tried to get beneath a few extra layers of leaves for warmth, but it wasn't much better. It was good to call it a night so early. since it was going to take him a good while to fall asleep like this.

For the first few minutes, the Snivy only tried to clear his mind of all distractions. He focused on the quiet sounds of the forest and forced himself to only think of a blank sheet of paper. The process took more effort than it would have if he was just relaxing, but before long he started to feel the edges of his thoughts start to go fuzzy. His breathing slowed all the way down, his limbs started to feel heavy, and...actually, he didn't really feel all that tired after all. The strategy seemed to be working as intended, but as soon as he got even close to dreaming, his brain woke right up.

He tried again and again, but without any luck. He tried counting Mareep jumping over a fence, yet it only reminded him of a story Mawile once told about Ampharos' old adventures. One by one, his strategies for falling asleep all failed. Vallion loudly turned over in his pile of leaves, but he wasn't even sure if his new position was more comfortable than the last. Seconds of valuable rest were ticking by and he couldn't even figure out how to lay still anymore. Panne softly snored from the other side of the tree, so at least one of them was getting decent sleep tonight. Vallion sighed as he felt himself give up.

This was just something that happened sometimes. He never really was a heavy sleeper, anyways. There were plenty of nights where-no matter how comfortable or warm or peaceful everything was-it was impossible to get to sleep. It was much more common of an occurrence before they'd beaten Dark Matter, but that was just probably from stress and worries, and he didn't really feel all that stressed out right now. There really wasn't a reason to feel upset nowadays. Back then, it was a matter of being alone and scared. He barely even knew his own name at that point, much less why he was put in this world in the first place. Vallion could recall countless times where he'd just be tossing and turning all night in Nuzleaf's house until the sky outside the window started to turn blue again...Well if it wasn't stress on his mind, what was keeping him right now?

Panne was the first thing that popped into his head, and it was kinda obvious now that he was thinking about it. They were literally put on his planet to be together, as deigned by divine forces beyond their comprehension and all that jazz. It only made sense that these new feelings he was stuck on would start to affect all aspects of his life. What was the relationship between Mew and his past self like? Were they even closer together than Panne was to him now? Were they...more than friends at all?

Vallion rolled over onto his side, the sound of the leaves like thunder in the silence. Maybe that's why he liked her so much. Maybe it was something he inherited from his past self, like a universal law or something. There was no way for him to really find out, anyways. Not without finding some way to absorb the memories that had been erased from his head-and after the last time one of them did something like that...Not knowing something like that wasn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Then was then, now was now, and he definitely wasn't getting any sleepier from thinking about it.

...At some point, he was going to have to confront this fuzzy feeling in his chest. This doesn't feel like something he could just ignore until it went away on his own. Still, even thinking about it at all felt like he was compromising something sacred. If they already had a perfect friendship, why even risk trying to go any further? Vallion suddenly heard Swirlix's words in his ears and recalled how everyone had already been assuming they were in a relationship. The Snivy bit his tongue, the memory leaving a boulder in the pit of his stomach. At least Panne didn't seem to know. It would have been obvious if Panne knew.

Vallion started going over his methods of falling asleep once more, but now his heart was beating too fast. Each time he even got close to drifting off for good, he'd hear Panne's soft breathing in the silence and the whole process would start right over. God, why did it have to be tonight? They were about to go on a mission! Someone's life could be in danger and he's staying up fantasizing about things that won't happen! The leaves continued to scratch at his scales, the cold air stuck to his throat and burned in his nostrils, and he was starting to get hungry again. A groan of exasperation escaped past his lips.

"Hm?"

Vallion nearly jumped two feet into the air before he realized it was just Panne. After a few seconds had passed, that relief just turned to a different kind of despair. He had been tossing and turning so much that he hadn't even heard her stop snoring. A pang of guilt shot through him as the Fennekin whispered once more, "What's up, Val? Are you okay?"

"It's-it's nothing. I'm just having a little bit of trouble sleeping," Vallion whispered back, silently vowing to stay as still as a board for the rest of the night. "I'm really sorry if I woke you up. I'm just kinda cold is all. Don't worry about it."

"I know what kind of mood you're in. You're just not going to get sleep tonight, are you?" Her voice cut through the air like a razor.

The Snivy didn't reply. He peered through the cracks in the pile up at the moon, squinting at how bright it seemed. After a moment passed, he couldn't bear the silence anymore, "I'll be fine. It's not like I'm not used to functioning with no sleep, anyway. At least one of us should be well-rested for tomorrow. I'm sure I'll fall asleep at some point."

She sighed in response, making his heart hurt even worse. "Oh stop. You're just going to pretend to be asleep so that you don't end up waking me up."

Vallion grimaced and grabbed at his chest. "Sorry." He muttered. It was all that he managed to push out of his lungs, even if there was a dozen more apologies on the tip of his tongue. Dammit, why couldn't he have just stayed quiet to begin with?! She wouldn't even have the chance to worry if she was still fast asleep! Gah, what an idiot! Stupid, stupid!

"...Cold, huh?" Panne said, the mere sound of her voice enough to pull all of his attention. He heard the rustling of leaves, but the noise was moving around the trunk of the tree. Before the Snivy could figure out what was happening, he felt the brush of fur against his scales, and the inviting warmth that came with it. Vallion gasped and tried to twist around, but Panne wiggled behind him while she got her bearings in the dark.

Vallion started to stutter in confusion, but was quickly hushed as the Fennekin started to wrap around him. It seemed like the whole universe was exploding with sensation, but he was completely frozen in place. She, however, didn't even hesitate to press up against him from behind. One paw somehow slipped its way under his neck while the other came up over his side and pulled him even closer. He even felt her fluffy tail overlap his own. The Snivy had to manually remind himself to start breathing again.

After a bit of wiggling, Panne finally came to a rest. "There. You can't possibly stay cold while snuggling with a fire type, so now you're out of excuses." She murmured so closely behind his head that an uncontrollable shiver went down his spine, her hot breath tickling the back of his neck. It felt like his heart was trying to beat its way out of his chest.

Vallion didn't dare move an inch, forcibly controlling each breath so that Panne couldn't hear how shaky they were. The blush that erupted across his face burned like he was in front of the campfire again. He tried as hard as he could to hide how flustered he had become, but it felt like a pointless battle. She was so intimately close that there was no way he could mask it all. The length of her body curved so perfectly with his that it was like the final two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They'd slept next to each other plenty of times before, but this-this was so completely different from those times. He never would have guessed how wonderful and absolutely frightening it would be to sleep together like this. Was this even happening? Did he end up falling asleep after all?

The Snivy expected to wake up from this incredible dream at any second, but it never seemed to end. Every little ounce of affection he had pent up over the last few weeks came to the very front of his thoughts, and it felt like he was going to burst at the seams. Sure, he was panicking, but it was the most fulfilling panic he's probably ever had. What if he twisted around and nuzzled into her a little more? Would she take it as platonic or jump straight to the obvious answer? What if he kissed her? God, it was so hard to concentrate with her breathing right down his back.

Maybe she really did know how he felt for her. Maybe she didn't. That wasn't what mattered right now. The reason she crawled behind him was because they both needed sleep and this was the only way he was going to get it. At the very least he could rest on the fact that it was going to be much easier to confess to her later, and oh god did he want to tell her so bad. It was only three words-no, barely even that. All it would take is three syllables to tell her how he felt. But it was time to sleep, dammit! Stop thinking, start sleeping!

Gradually-very, very gradually-Vallion's muscles started to loosen up. Once the first of his defenses started to go down, he practically melted into her. He took all the courage and bravery he could muster up, took a deep breath, and turned his body just enough that he could rest his cheek on her forehead. The tiniest little movement to show a mere fraction of his affection, and it was more difficult for him to pull off than lifting a boulder with one arm. When Panne's response was to bury deeper into his neck, he had to bite back a gasp. He could have sworn he felt her face contort into a smile.

Panne's strategy in warming him up was overwhelmingly effective. She was so soft and comfy that it was almost impossible to stay awake now that he had relaxed. The problem now was that he wanted to stay awake, just so that this moment could last as long as possible. It was way too much of an uphill battle. He couldn't even open his eyes anymore, they were so heavy. His thoughts started to fuzz over before long, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. A smile stuck on his face, Vallion committed as much of this feeling to memory as he could before everything faded into warmth.

...

* * *

"Again."

The moonlight was all they had to see by, but it had to be enough. A few yards away, the Chesnaught huffed and puffed as they motioned to take stance again, but their form was getting sloppy with exhaustion. That didn't make them any less penetrable, it seemed. With a shuddering sigh, the Serperior lowered himself close to the ground, tensed up his tired muscles, and somehow found the strength to surge forward.

Once the Chesnaught raised their armored arms to brace themselves, the Serperior veered right and drew his vines. The first vine hardened at the tip and flattened into a blade, and in the next split-second was brought down over the Chesnaught's shoulder. The attack glanced harmlessly off their hardened shell, but it still drew enough of a reaction to distract them from the second vine, which came around to jab at the opposite side. The Serperior grimaced as his trick was effortlessly blocked.

Back to square one. The Serperior strafed around his opponent in search of an opening, all the while attempting to confuse them with winding strikes and feints. The Chesnaught was no stranger to this dance, anticipating the validity of almost every blow and parried each attempt with graceful ease. A fraction of a second went by, and suddenly the Serperior had broken the dance and lunged forward, fang bared. There was no time to sidestep the attack, so instead the Chesnaught grit his teeth and took the bite on the leg, then reared up to deliver a counterattack.

The Serperior pulled away too late. The spiny arm came down on his upper body like a boulder, knocking the wind from his lungs. He slithered away as fast as he could move, but with each reeling cough that forced its way up his throat came a spike of pain. Once he made enough distance to recover, the Serperior twisted around and hissed, the tips of his vines sharpening once more.

This time, the storm of stabs and feints didn't last nearly as long. When the Chesnaught finally had enough of defending, they rushed to grab one of the vines that was in the process of faking an attack. The Serperior's reaction came too slow, and instead of retracting the vine their hand before they could grip down on it, he was violently pulled Chesnaught stomped forward to balance themselves, then came down on the Serperior like a mountain. The entirety of their weight pushed him into the grass, one arm pinning Serperior behind the neck while the other still strangled the limp vine. All motion stopped. After a few seconds had passed, the battle was decided and the Chesnaught released the snake.

The Serperior wheezed painfully, then lifted his head with a disconcerting popping sound. "A...Again," he growled, quivering with effort. This time, the Chesnaught refused to take stance.

"You've had enough, Alex. Any further and we're both going to start suffering from real injuries. In truth, we should have stopped a long while ago. It's dangerous to spar in such dim light," the Chesnaught spat out between gasps. The Serperior said nothing for a time, then lowered his head in resignation.

Together, they scaled the side of a nearby hill and followed the sound of water running over rocks. A small stream snaked its way through the forest, rushing down from the mountains to join up with the main river. Chesnaught dropped to a kneel and scooped up the water into their huge hands, both to drink and splash on themselves. The Serperior chose the far less graceful option of dunking his whole head beneath the water and greedily gulping as much as possible before having to gasp for breath. This really was an excellent place to train. Isolated, quiet, and with a constant source of cold water that served both as a way to cool off and as a static road in the middle of a mystery dungeon. There really wasn't much more he could ask for.

A full minute passed before either of them had the breath to speak again. The Serperior was first to break the silence. "Thanks for the training, Reinhardt. I'm really starting to get soft on some of my techniques, it seems. I'll make an attempt to remaster them as soon as possible."

"I don't think it's your memory that's weighing you down," Reinhardt said. "You were being way too reckless at times. You only get that way when something's bothering you, Alex."

The Serperior did not turn to meet his partner's eyes. "Am I really that easy to read?" He muttered to the stream, water still dripping from the curves of his face.

"I've known you for a very long time. If I couldn't at least read when you're upset, I'd probably call myself a horrible friend." Reinhardt stared at him with unease. "Though I suppose I already know what's bothering you, right?"

"Yeah." Alexander's normally sharp eyes seemed to soften as he turned towards the Chesnaught. "I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I honestly didn't expect to have to do some of the things I've already done to get this place in order. There's just so much resistance, I can't do everything I need to without looking like a villain. It's hard to believe how well you've handled Paradise all this time."

The Chesnaught gave him a big reassuring smile. "It was difficult, but I had you by my side the whole time, didn't I? And just the same, I'm going to keep supporting you all the way until this whole thing is done. You can't build a fence without getting a few splinters, hm?"

"Pfft. You're starting to sound like Quagsire...I know that this is all going to work out in the end, it's just-" he hesitated to find the correct words. "-I just wish we didn't have to deal with as much retaliation as we're getting. It's hurting pokemon we really shouldn't have to hurt, but what else can I even do? This kind of stubbornness is the exact thing I'm trying to wring out of this place. Everything ends up being a difficult decision with no right answers."

"There never really is," Reinhardt added. "You know, if it weren't for your leadership and strength, we would have already been kicked out of this region long ago. Sure, things are going to be tough, and you're going to step on toes to make sure everything goes smoothly, but look at what you've already done! We're halfway towards a goal that everyone in their right mind would assume was impossible! Think about how many wildlings have already agreed with your cause. Only you have that kind of power. I can fight and build and think all I want, but I'll never be able to talk like you."

Alexander tried to hide the proud smile on his face. "That's funny, usually it's the other way around. I remember having to chase you halfway across Mist Continent just to keep up with your dream." The Serperior looked up at the stars and huffed through his nose. It looked exactly the same way as it did when they were just kids, gazing up at the moon and wondering how they were possibly going to accomplish the impossible. Time really did move fast, didn't it?

"Whatever happens..." Reinhardt whispered. "Whatever you chose to do, and whatever trouble crosses your path as a result, I promise to still stand beside you. As an adviser to the king, pr as a close friend, or as anything you wish. I'll have your back for as long as I can still breathe."

"Reinhardt-I'd be worth nothing if it weren't for you, and in several cases I'd already be dead." Alexander blinked at the moonlight. "A friend like you appears maybe once in a century."

"And I wouldn't even hesitate to do it all again, Alex." The Chesnaught stood with a grunt. "Now come along. We've been out here for way too long, and I'm going to starve if I don't get some food in me soon."

Alexander nodded and slithered over to where he had dropped off his supplies before training. He extended a vine and scooped up the bag, along with a golden necklace that glistened in the dull light. The emeras slotted into its links glowed faintly. The Serperior undid the clasp with the single vine and wrapped it around his neck. With everything gathered up, he hurried after his partner on their way home.


	3. Parallels

By this point, Vallion had been around the world once or twice. He's been in deserts, tundras, jungles, and even a few volcanoes. Despite all that, it still astounded him how much of a difference a few mountains can make. The eastern forests were already flooded with the vibrant colors of autumn, but all it took was a few minutes of travel over Sunrise Pass to seem like he went back in time a month. The leaves here were barely starting to turn yellow, and even then the evergreens that surrounded them more than compensated for the change in color. The Snivy noticed that he had started to lower his head to keep the sun out of his eyes. They had already rocketed into noon, it seemed.

Panne marched on with her eyes glued to her feet. Her lips and ears twitched as she spoke in her own daydream, barely paying any attention to the world around her. She had a tiny little smile on her face that made Vallion's heart start to flutter. He could still practically feel her soft fur wrapping around his body. The way her chest rose and fell against his back as she softly snored into his neck, so warm and wonderful...A shiver ran straight down his back. The mission, dammit! They were on a mission to rescue a Larvesta! If he kept getting lost in the memory of last night, there was a good chance someone could actually get hurt, even if this region wasn't all that dangerous. After all, what kind of emergency does it take to delay Kecleon's supplies? Now was the time to focus!

...Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to fantasize just a little bit.

"Stop!" the growled command was so sudden that the two of them could do nothing more but obey out of surprise. Vallion peered into the thick bushes from which the sound came and saw a skulking shadow pass through. A huge Mightyena emerged from the forest, its eyes sharp and wild. The pokemon circled around them once, seemingly trying to sniff out their intentions before snarling out its next demands. "What's your business here? If you lie to me, I'll kill you!"

Panne, who didn't seem fazed at all by the beast, was the quickest to answer. "We're from the Expedition Society of Lively Town. We're currently on a mission to find a Larvesta who was reported to have went missing in this general area some time in the last few days. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"I'm asking the questions, rat!" the Mightyena shouted and bore its teeth. "It's not my job to know who's already inside the forest, only to know who enters! I would know if you two were supposed to be here, and since I don't know, then you aren't supposed to be here!"

"Then may we enter so that we can see the Poliwrath? They would surely allow us to conduct our mission." Vallion spoke as precisely as possible, unable to tear his eyes away from its fangs.

The Mightyena merely scoffed at him. "Poliwrath? Poliwrath! Hah, impossible! Those weaklings were thrown out days ago! The king is stronger and smarter than all of them combined! Nobody will be seeing any Poliwrath anymore!"

"Th-the king?" Panne stuttered. "Wait, what do you mean the Poliwrath were thrown out? Did someone come along and just...beat them up or something?" The Fennekin took an inquisitive step forward, but immediately retracted her foot when the Mightyena snarled as loud as it could. It took a moment for the wildling to accept the surrender and begin to speak once more.

"Have you been exploring the undersides of a rock back at that 'So-city' thing? The king defeated them all and we watched them run off like cowards. Now the river is better than it ever was! No more weak Poliwrath! Just the king and only the king!" The pokemon shouted, beaming with a strange respect that Vallion had never seen before in someone that lived in a mystery dungeon. The Mightyena noticed the strange look on Vallion's face and growled in annoyance. "...Are you weaklings still confused? Idiots! Fine, fine! I'll bring you to the king so that you know who the strongest is!"

With a twist of its head, the Mightyena signaled them to follow and immediately disappeared into the bushes it had emerged from. Vallion nervously glanced over to Panne, but she returned the look with a confident grin and took off after the feral pokemon. The Snivy groaned and hurried to catch up, a queasiness building up in the pit of his stomach.

They could just barely keep track of their guide in the dense sea of scratching twigs and leaves. The first few minutes were spent in silent concentration, only occasionally taking the time to spit debris out of their mouths. Only when the foliage finally began to clear up did Vallion manage to get a whisper in. "Did the Poliwrath seriously get kicked out of their own river? And did this king guy that took their place seriously convince a wild pokemon to act as a guard to the mystery dungeon? What's even going on around here, you think?"

"I dunno. It's no wonder Kecleon's shipment got all messed up, though," Panne murmured back so that the Mightyena couldn't hear. "Like, how did all of this just fly under the radar so easily? If the Poliwrath are gone then that's a big freakin' deal! I heard they've been around these parts for generations! The fact that we didn't even hear about this until now is nuts! And I really doubt this new guy is actual royalty, to be honest."

"Don't you dare speak that way about the king, rat! I'll kill you!" The Mightyena barked back. "The king is the strongest of us all, only he gets to decide what is right and what is wrong! If you keep talking that way I'll rip out your tongues!"

"Pff. Yeah, okay. You do that," The Fennekin muttered as they followed the wildling down a steep incline of ferns and ivy. The flat, gentle woodland they were traveling through seemed to melt away into a chaotic maze of slopes and thickets, making it even more difficult to keep up with their guide. They had definitely entered the mystery dungeon by now, which meant that they might as well give up on having any sense of direction. Hopefully they were being lead towards the actual river and not some random spot in the middle of the entire forest. Though he couldn't really discriminate until he found any clue as to where this Larvesta might have gotten lost.

Vallion suddenly realized how peaceful it was. They've been traveling straight through the middle of a mystery dungeon for a few minutes now and there hasn't been a single attack. He hasn't even heard so much as a territorial growl from all these bushes he kept passing by. Was it because they were being escorted or something, or has Poliwrath River really changed this much in the past few days? A shudder shot down the Snivy's back. Somehow this was even more unnerving than if they were being stalked by a bunch of predators. At least then things would seem a little more natural.

It wasn't until Vallion heard the distant sound of running water that he started to loosen up. The spaces between trees grew wider, the canopy above started thin out and let through speckled bits of sunlight, and the air generally just felt less heavy than before. He passed the last threshold of leaves and was nearly blinded by the glittering waves of Poliwrath River. It was the only static landmark in the entire valley, and it was positively gorgeous to look at on a beautiful day like today. Fallen leaves drifted along the current, bouncing up and down on the crystalline water as they floated to wherever. Maybe he was just in a good mood still. The Snivy took a deep breath and hurried after Panne.

The Mightyena walked along the upper bank for a few feet, sniffed at the air, then veered off towards the river. Vallion peered over and caught a glimpse of a Chesnaught kneeling down by the water's edge. From what he could tell, the grass type was speaking with a small handful of the pokemon who lived in the river, their heads barely poking out of the surface. As soon as Vallion got close enough to hear a few words, the water types dipped back down into the current and disappeared from sight. The Chesnaught huffed and turned to the three of them.

Much to the Snivy's surprise, the Mightyena immediately dropped to its forelegs before the Chesnaught, almost like a kind of bow. "Sir Reinhardt," they said without even a hint of sarcasm.

The Chesnaught apparently known as Reinhardt bowed his head in return. "Have you anything to report, scout?" His eyes wandered back to the two pokemon awkwardly standing behind the wildling. "Ah. It seems you do, then! Who are these two?"

"I caught these pests skirting around the territory. They say they're from the expension so-city, and that they're trying to find someone who got lost." The Mightyena stepped to the side so that Panne and Vallion could answer for themselves.

"Uh," the Snivy stammered, suddenly caught off guard. "Yeah. So I'm Vallion, and this is Panne, and we're here from the Expedition Society on a report of a missing Larvesta. But I mean- Now that we're here and everything seems like it's gone crazy, well...Nobody past the mountains knew all this king stuff was going on."

At first the Chesnaught just gave them a disconcerting look, one that made Vallion's scales crawl around on his back. After a while Reinhardt crossed his arms and leaned forward, scanning the explorers up and down. "...Aren't you two a little young to be in the Expedition Society?...Oh!" Some kind of recognition sparkled in his eyes. "You two are the kids that fought with the Dark Matter, aren'tcha?"

"Yep! That's us!" Panne chimed in. Reinhardt nodded with a big smile on his face and waved the Mightyena away. The dark type huffed in their usual irritable way and gave a quick bow before slinking off to whatever bush would be best to snarl at travelers from.

"Well in that case, hiya! Welcome to our new little section of the world!" Reinhardt held out his huge hand towards Vallion, presumably for an immensely disproportionate handshake. The Snivy hesitated before he finally reached out and essentially placed his whole arm into the center of Reinhardt's palm. They shook, very gently and especially awkward. Panne managed to get away with just exchanging polite bows with him.

Vallion tried his best to put the shaky introduction behind him. "A-anyways," he continued. "It's important that we find this Larvesta as soon as possible, before anything bad happens to them. You seem to know a lot of what's going on around here, so if you happened to know anything we'd really appreciate it if you could lead us in the right direction."

Reinhardt ran his fingers through his beard of fur. "A Larvesta, was it? Hmm...I don't really recall ever seeing one of those around these parts. Though we haven't exactly been here for all too long. I've been busy hurrying all our projects along anyways, you'd probably have better luck speaking to the king himself. If anyone were to hear about that kind of thing, it's him."

"About this 'king', Mister...uh-Sir Reinhardt, sir?" The Snivy stumbled over his words trying to figure what terminology to use.

The Chesnaught interrupted a deep, bellowing laugh. "Please, just call me Reinhardt for now. You two are the honored guests here. I'm just someone who's very good at managing people."

"Okay!" Panne interrupted cheerily. "We were wondering how this king came to be anyhow. That Mightyena said someone came along and beat up the old Poliwrath who lived here before, then he went on about how great the king was. None of that's come over the mountains so we have no idea what's been going on over here."

Reinhardt crossed his arms and huffed. "Oh dear. You two are in for a real earful then. Not to mention the fact that you're the kids that fought Dark Matter. Alex may as well be seeking an audience with YOU at this point," He turned his back and beckoned for the partners to follow. With each pokemon that lead them deeper into the dungeon, Vallion felt his stomach start to twist up. With Panne already skipping behind the grass type, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice besides to follow along. How bad could it even be, right? A trap wasn't going to do much as long as they were together.

The Chesnaught did the honors of breaking the nervous silence. "We'll try to get you on your search as quickly as possible, but I'm afraid there's likely much to discuss. I mean, it seems you're the first 'officials' to have stumbled upon our little operation here. We're not bandits or anything like that, so I would prefer to avoid stepping on the toes of the Expedition Society too much."

"You could have just sent a letter if you wanted to notify us of your presence," Vallion said, staring off into the distance.

"Ah, it's nothing so urgent! We're dealing with enough problems as it is trying to establish some kind of civilized system here. Personally I think we could maybe have gotten a little more outside help for this, but whatever works I suppose. His majesty insisted that we 'speak their own language' when we made it here. I'm sure he'll gladly give you two the same spiel," Reinhardt chuckled to himself like all this was no big deal.

Pebbles crunched beneath their feet as they meandered their way up the shore. A few of the dungeon's denizens popped up here and there, with surprisingly much less hostility than Vallion would come to expect from the middle of a mystery dungeon. While it was plenty enough to keep the Snivy bewildered, he didn't get a full dose of what was going on until they crossed through a bank of trees. On the other side of the thicket was a small handful of pokemon, who surely had to still be wildlings, clearly gathering up crude construction supplies and timber and organizing it all into a pile. Several wooden poles jutted from the rivers's surface, outlining the foundation of what would soon become a bridge.

A bridge. In the middle of a mystery dungeon. Built by the denizens of the mystery dungeon itself, seemingly for the purpose of helping everyone get across the river equally. Even Panne seemed stunned at the sight. Reinhardt noticed their stares and guffawed.

"What the hell happened?" Vallion gasped. "Did you just replace everyone in this entire forest with random villagers?"

"Last thing you'd expect to see, huh?" The grass type grinned from ear to ear. "Come along, there's more than that to see! We've only just started!" Vallion and Panne followed readily, but their eyes were still glued to the scaffolding as they passed by.

"How the heck did we NOT hear about this?" the Fennekin whispered once the bridge was out of sight.

They didn't go for more than a few moments before Reinhardt picked up another topic. "Ah! You two have been concentrating on cartography more these days, right? Have you guys ever stopped by a place called Post Town on your travels? It's in Mist Continent, pretty much the farthest north you can go and not freeze to death. It's always been something of a landmark."

After sorting through his memories for a few seconds, Vallion just shook his head. "It sounds kind of familiar, but I can't say we've been there before."

"Perhaps if I referred to a place called Paradise, it would fit to your memories a little better?" the Chesnaught suggested. It wasn't quite instant, but the phrase did manage to bring up a rather vivid image in Vallion's head. He vaguely remembered a large settlement, larger than any town he'd been to before, dotted with cold-colored streetlights as a long arctic night began to settle in. They had perhaps stayed once or twice at the town during some of their prolonged visits to Mist. He recalled that it was built in just the right place to deflect a majority of the harsh weather, making winters less hostile altogether.

It was pretty obvious that Panne remembered this place, too, judging from her loud gasp of realization. "Ooh, I know that place! When you referred to it as a town it got a little confusing. A lot of the other Society members are probably heading up to Paradise there right now, actually! Everyone's all worked up about mapping out the nastier parts of the Mist continent before winter sets in."

Reinhardt chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Good! That makes my side of the explanation a whole lot easier. On the topic of Paradise, what if I told you that the 'king' and I were the founders and planners for a vast majority of that settlement?"

"What? Are you serious?" Panne's expression lit up like swarm of Volbeat on Christmas. It was like she was meeting a celebrity, which was ironic considering their own reputations. "You build that huge place all by yourselves? The whole thing? Oh my gosh, I've barely managed to build half a tree-house before I forgot what I was doing! How did just two pokemon manage to do that?"

Reinhardt shook his head, smiling. "It was hardly alone, mind you. Post Town had already been there when we began, and Paradise just naturally began to surround it as more pokemon came to live there. It served as something of a base of operations, so to speak. I could reminisce for hours about adventures I've had and people I've met there," He paused, partly to take a breath and otherwise to stave off nostalgia. Something similar to disappointment pushed its way into his cheerful expression. "That's ultimately the reason why we're here in the Water Continent today. You see, my dream as a child was to build a Paradise for all pokemon to come to and enjoy. A place where anyone and everyone could thrive in and coexist peacefully, hence the name. Anything you ever wanted out of a town, there was a good chance you'd find something like it there.

"And I succeeded. For a while it was just my partner and I, and everyone we had met in the process. Eventually new faces came, and old ones moved on. Progress had slowed down considerably. There really wasn't much else to do other than keep managing the settlement, but that wasn't enough for my partner. The only reason he had even followed me while I chased my dreams was because of his own precarious situation, and eventually he found that it was a good dream to share. Once we retired from the normal heroics of youth, Paradise expanded at a rapid pace.

"When everything slowed down, the new king of this forest grew more and more restless. He argued that our job in Paradise was done, and that our accumulated experience and skill would be better used to improve a different part of the world. After a while, I agreed with him, and here we are. I don't quite know the reason why we chose this place specifically to start a new Paradise-that's something you'll have to ask him yourself. He was always the more scholarly one, always thinking and reading. That's why I'm the one out here getting some projects running and he's elsewhere trying to piece together plans and projections."

In all the time Reinhardt spent talking, Vallion continued to survey the visible landscape for any signs of Larvesta. As overwhelming as this all was, he refused to let go of the mission at hand. They had traveled upstream a great distance for how long they were being lectured, yet there were still no signs of the missing pokemon. Instead, he came across more evidence of the sudden surge of civilization that had occurred with the change in leadership. There were excavation sites for stone and clay, little clearings where timber had been gathered, and even groundwork for where future buildings might go. Just who the hell was this mysterious and wise monarch, who somehow had the power to instill such dramatic changes in all these wildlings? Vallion could only imagine them as being some massive figure, like a kingly dragon that had come down to extend its territory.

After several more minutes of walking, they came across a defiant stretch of forest that almost seemed cultivated and trimmed, like someone had attempted to garden despite the fact that this was smack-dab in the middle of a mystery dungeon. Reinhardt turned towards this refined patch of foliage, beckoned them to follow once more, then walked onto a path Vallion didn't even see before now. Panne and the Chesnaught remained locked in heated conversation the whole time, but rather than an explanation the Fennekin had somehow gotten into an argument about food. It was painfully adorable how intensely Panne felt about which apples were the best, and even more so that she could get such a knightly figure involved. Vallion would have joined along if he hadn't been so engrossed with his own thoughts.

Their detour went deeper and deeper into the forest until eventually they found themselves entering a grove. The sunlight could barely filter down through the canopy, and with the earthy breeze that wove through the trees, Vallion felt a calming chill wash over his scales. It was the most serene little hideaway he had seen in...maybe even his whole life.

But like the outside, someone had to have made the grove by hand. As Vallion scanned the alluring scene, his eyes eventually caught on the pokemon which surely tended to it, and everything began to make more sense. It was a Serperior, turned away in intense concentration, the tips of its vines glowing ever-so slightly as their delicate touch made quick work of an intrusive bush. At first, Vallion wondered whether if this was someone who was supposed to be gardening for the king, but it struck him that there was no was almost no other species of pokemon he would consider as kingly as his own. The refreshing air quickly started to seem heavy.

"Ah, you're back." The Serperior muttered coolly, pivoting their long body to meet the new presence. When they turned to see two other guests standing beside Reinhardt, however, the grace at which they moved seemed to disappear. Vallion was immediately hit by gaze so piercing, so horribly intimidating, that he wanted to shrink away and run. The Serperior's crimson eyes were like a blast of fire that was rushing toward him, coming ever-closer yet never quite arriving. There was a glitter of gold beneath those lethal eyes-an emera brace. Trying hard not to look at the pokemon's face, Vallion focused on parsing the kinds of emeras they were wearing, but the rainbow of colors made it difficult to isolate what they were. Red, yellow, green, purple, dark blue, and a single etching in the center where one more could be. In a way, he didn't want to know what they were.

"And who have you brought me today, Reinhardt?" his voice was silken, soaked with just as much conceit as you'd expect. Vallion realized everyone else was kneeling besides him, and quickly got low to the musty ground.

It didn't seem to matter too much, as Panne had already bounced up to answer. "Hi, mister king! I'm Panne, this is Vallion, and we're here from Lively Town's Exploration Society on official business! There was a report of a missing Larvesta in these parts and we've come to rescue them!"

The king stared on with the same expression, either slightly irritated or unfazed entirely. "I'd prefer it if you'd just refer to me as 'your majesty' if you insist on using shorthand."

"Sure!" the Fennekin readily agreed with a huge grin. Vallion nearly winced from the tension.

"They're speaking the truth," Reinhardt spoke up, seemingly having hardened from the warm and friendly exterior he was wearing not two minutes ago. "These two are official members of that Society. And you'd be pleased to hear that they're the two members that also fought with Dark Matter several months ago. I'm certain you at least have a few words for them with that fact alone. But yes, they are on a mission to find a missing Larvesta in this area."

If the Serperior felt anything about his and Panne's presence, they did an incredible job at hiding it. They just nodded and stared off into the distance. "Very well. I will be concise: I know nothing of this Larvesta's disappearance, nor was I aware of her presence to begin with. I'm afraid I won't be of any help to you on your search."

Panne's ears drooped backwards. "Aww. Well thanks anyways, your majesty. If you don't mind, we really do need to start looking for them as soon as possible. I really wanna find this kid before tonight, they might be in danger otherwise."

"Wait," The Serperior demanded, and the very wind seemed to freeze in place. "I can't aid you with information, but I can in reliable manpower. Reinhardt will accompany you while you search. Use his extensive knowledge of the area to help you on your way. Although I'm sure this dungeon isn't exactly too difficult for heroes like you to maneuver, there has been much change and confusion in these parts. However, there _is_ a condition to this agreement."

"...And what would that be, your highness?" Vallion spoke with a degree of difficulty, a stone of unease stuck at the bottom of his throat. There was something disquieting about the way this Serperior spoke, like they had an agenda and were trying to work two interlopers into the scheme.

"It's a simple bargain. I wish to speak with you, Vallion, and only you. While Panne and Reinhardt are out surveying for signs of the Larvesta, you will be here in audience with me. They will return to this place before sunset if nothing's been found by the end of the day. Is this clear?" The Serperior's expression was unwavering and unreadable, but their eyes continued to glow that menacing blood-red.

Vallion held his breath, glancing towards Panne in a brief moment of contemplation. He found that she had done the same, and they silently traded their doubts over the few seconds that their eyes had met. Why would they have to separate? What on earth would this king want with Vallion, for that matter? With the disappearance of Kecleon's supplies over the last week, something was surely wrong about all this.

Seeing their hesitation, Reinhardt found a chance to speak up. "There's no need to worry about it. You have my absolute word that no harm will come to Panne during our search, and that she will return to you safely and in a timely fashion." The Chesnaught crossed his heart with a massive fist fist.

"But why can't the both of us hear what you have to say?" Vallion pressed further.

"A simple answer," The Serperior began. "The topic simply does not involve your partner. I promise that everything will come to make sense in time. This is something I need to happen, and your mission is also of the utmost importance. This way, both of our goals may come to fruition at once. Does this not sound appealing to you?"

Vallion looked to Panne for clarity one last time, and saw the reassuring smile she wore for him. Whatever decision he was going to make, she would support it until the bitter end, for better or for worse. That's always how it seemed, no matter what the decision was, and this one was no different. A wave of sentimentality rushed into his chest, filling up his heart with an irresistible fluttering feeling.

"Do you trust these two?" Vallion asked the Fennekin, trying his best to maintain his composure.

She nodded readily, "Sure! They don't seem too bad, what's the worst that could happen? Better keep your stuff with you though, just in case I end up losing mine somehow."

Once more, Vallion turned to the Serperior. As long as Panne was with him, those eyes didn't seem so bad anymore. "We accept these terms, your majesty, so long as you keep up your end of the bargain and she's back here by sunset."

"It's settled, then. Prepare at once, there is as much to discuss as there are places to search." the Serperior turned away to finish pruning the unruly bush that had the gall to throw off the grove's symmetry.

Panne took this final opportunity to bound over and embrace Vallion in farewell. Despite all their bulky equipment getting in the way of the hug, just the plush softness of her fur made Vallion's spin. There was definitely no other place he wished to be.

"This guy is actually pretty spooky, don't let him do anything weird," she whispered to the side of his head. He hummed in affirmation, hoping that the green emera on the Serperior's necklace wasn't the kind that enhanced their hearing. The two parted after a few moments, but it still felt too short. "I'll find the Larvesta and come right back! I promise!"

The king uttered one last command. "Do well to keep her out of trouble, Reinhardt. No offense, but she seems like the kind that can find it easily."

Vallion stood back and watched as the two scampered out of the grove. The farther Panne got from him, the more he felt the looming presence of the Serperior behind him. He couldn't imagine what this king guy would even want with him in the first place. Reinhardt was basically the polar opposite of this Serperior, yet they were supposed to have been old partners and friends all this time? He'd sooner believe that Amparos and Mawile got together than be convinced of a relationship like that.

...

* * *

"Come."

The king's command reverberated through the grove like thunder. Vallion obeyed and followed after the king's haughty slither as the clearing narrowed into another dense path. This passageway was a lot more hidden than the last, and seemed only a third as groomed. It was also only large enough for the Serperior to crawl on their belly through-not that he had much trouble with it, either. As the canopy grew thicker above, the cool breeze was replaced by the stuffy warmth of still air, trapped beneath the foliage and heavy with the musty smell of the forest.

The suffocating passage eventually opened itself up to another sort of artificial grove, but this one was just as dark and claustrophobic as the passage leading up to it. Here, the ground had been completely cleared of debris and vegetation, leaving only the richly-colored topsoil, packed tightly into the earth. There was a large, flat boulder in the middle of the clearing, along with a dozen smaller stones at the very borders of the treeline. While Vallion thought all of this was strangely organized, it hardly compared to when he glanced upwards.

A webbing of branches extended towards the sky, every wayward leaf and twig stripped down to the bark. The skeletal limbs reached out over the clearing all the way up to the cracks of blue sky, where even the sun struggled to penetrate. The lattice of bare branches must have been at least twenty feet tall, maybe even more. It was hard to tell from the ground. The Serperior really saw through to make this place their home, didn't they?

Once Vallion's eyes fell back down to earth, he noticed some faint wisps of smoke coming from near the central boulder. It was there that the kingly pokemon had dug around in the dirt with a vine, then pulled up a small clay pot. A few cinders rose up from the hole before it was covered up once more. He continued to watch in awe as the Serperior withdrew a pair of ceramic cups from the thick brush, then poured steaming water from the pot into them. From a different bush entirely, they took a pot of honey and added it into the mixture, along with some crushed leaves. They were seriously making making hot tea in the middle of a mystery dungeon, from inside a specially-pruned pokemon-made grove. It was astounding.

Surely enough, a cup of dark, sweetly-scented liquid was set before Vallion, placed onto the flat stone in the center. He wasn't all too fond of tea, but this seemed like neither the time nor the place to refuse the gesture. Vallion sat down and patiently waited for his drink to cool. The Serperior was indifferent of the heat and immediately brought a sip to the end of their long snout. They placed the cup down with a small clack, and a brief silence fell.

"I must apologize for the crude setting. I'm sure you're more used to civilization by now, but I'm still working getting this place up and running. If your body was a little more matured, I'd almost suggest that we have this conversation up in the trees, but still..." The Serperior settled down and curled up into a tight coil. Vallion did not reply, merely nodding as he glared at the reflection of the sky in his tea.

The king continued. "Vallion, I know this meeting may seem sudden, and perhaps even suspicious, but this is an opportunity I feel we both can't afford to miss. I want you to fully understand the gravity of what we will be talking about today. Of course, I can't just expect you to cooperate when you barely know anything about me, so allow me to get this out of the way. My name is Alexander, and I am a human."

It came slowly at first. Vallion continued to look down at his tea, examining his own reflection. His eyes started to widen. There was no way, right? That was such a ridiculous claim, why would anyone lie about something like that? He glanced up at the Serperior and felt the ground start to sway from beneath him. The menace that surrounded them disappeared completely, replaced instead by an almost pleading expression, their piercing eyes disarmed and genuine. It was such a familiar face that Vallion felt his head start to spin. He used to look into mirrors, glaring at the Snivy body that he had been given, and called himself human. He did this over and over for minutes at a time, desperate to never forget what he truly was. That was the same exact face.

Alexander smiled for the first time since they had met. "Yes, it seems you do understand. To be honest, I was planning on seeking you out at the Society and having this conversation once I could leave. I suppose fate decided to speed that process up a little. I'm glad for it."

"Wait," Vallion gasped out, catching himself as he leaned backwards. Thoughts were rushing by so quickly that he had to pause just to catch them all. "Why..._Why_ are you a human? I mean, what are you doing here? Don't humans only appear during the times when the world is in danger? Wouldn't that mean..?" Just a minute ago, this Serperior was a complete stranger. Now, it felt like he just met a long-lost brother. He could barely even believe it.

The king chuckled and took another sip of tea, daintily placing the cup back down with another tiny clink. "You're right. Humans do only appear when there is great peril, and I was certainly no exception. My story is also far from as well-documented and famous as yours. Just as an example, you are colleagues and friends with historians who were keeping live notes of your exploits with Dark Matter-all of which I have read by this point. Mine and Reinhardt's battles are essentially folklore and legends at this point. I was never supposed to be a part of some grand prophecy. In fact, the reason I'm here basically boil's down to an act of wild desperation. I was one of many humans that were summoned to stop a disaster from befalling the Mist Continent. I am the last."

"...Many?" Vallion interrupted, furiously rubbing at his temples. "As in, multiple humans? What the hell were you fighting that needed multiple humans? And you're saying that you're the only one that's left?"

Alexander pointed his nose to the stone table, closing his eyes in thought. "You would be surprised how familiar this foe was to your own. The monster that threatened my home was a being made entirely of negativity and malice, one supposedly wrought from the dark thoughts of all pokemon. In a place as gloomy and isolated as Post Town, we felt its effects far before the rest of the world. The Bittercold was what it was called."

It was a lot to absorb. Vallion reached for his cup of tea, held the hot clay for a few seconds, then pulled away without even thinking about taking a drink. "What was the Bittercold? It sounds like Dark Matter, for sure, but are they even related? I guess since we're all still here, you ended up dealing with it."

The Serperior nodded. "Ever since the cataclysm you stopped, I've been wondering that same thing. I believe that Bittercold may have been a harbinger of sorts-a premature omen of the disasters to come. I can't say it was anything more than a primal force of nature, but it does seem eerily convenient that it appeared not too long before the calendar date you and Panne were meant to reappear. Perhaps it was an attempt for your Dark Matter to gain a foothold in this world before you could reincarnate? Or maybe it really was a separate entity entirely. Maybe the destruction of one gave way to the other. The only concrete truth is that, if it weren't for Reinhardt and I, the potential damage would have been equally as catastrophic."

"How did I never know about this?" Vallion's reply was more towards himself than anything.

"Nobody could connect the dots. The number of pokemon who knew about Dark Matter's centennial cycle was in the single digits, and there weren't actually that many who knew about Bittercold, either. "Alexander paused to sip at his tea, as he often did when attempting to gather his thoughts. A heavy sigh filtered through his nose. "We were destined to meet. Our adventures, our purpose, our battles-they're all so similar. Perhaps you can help me..."

Vallion finally managed to take a swig of lukewarm tea while Alexander was silent. Definitely not his taste, but who cares at this point? He woke up expecting to search a forest for a Larvesta and ended up speaking with another human. It felt like electricity was rushing through his body, tingling at his fingertips and leaving out the end of his tail. He endlessly mouthed the word Bittercold as he attempted to put all the pieces to the puzzle together.

The Serperior deeply inhaled through his nose, then began again. "The point I'm trying to make is that we are both two of a kind. We fought the same battle after being put in the same alien body. Met similar partners with whom we would race to the end together. I want to see where our parallels are drawn. There have been questions on my mind for weeks now and I need to know what to do. Tell me what your battle with Dark Matter was like. Tell me the virtues that saved the world."

"You...want me to describe the fight?" Vallion muttered back, quickly receiving affirmation from a hurried nod. As he dug back a few months, the memories that boiled up were as vivid as if they were yesterday. "Okay. It was the core of the Tree of Life. Basically the hollow trunk of a massive dead tree, cracked and falling apart. There was basically nothing left of the entire planet. Everyone was dead by that point-or petrified, whatever you want to describe it as. There was probably less than a handful of minutes left before everything was destroyed forever. It was starting to get really hot in that place.

"I was scared," was the best way he could think to describe it. "I mean, all that we knew and loved had been destroyed over the past few days before that. It's not like our spirits were particularly high. The only reason we weren't ripped to shreds or petrified was because of our scarves, which were already parts of the Tree of Life anyway. Even with those things, though, you can't really change the fact that there was barely any oxygen in the air anymore."

Alexander raised a vine and interjected. "I know. All hope was lost, and death was already at your heels. I am just as human as you, and I have also faced something that mirrored the despair in all our hearts. But we are here, alive, and so is the rest of the world. There in lies what I need to hear from you." He leaned in closer. His eyes had gotten intense again, seemingly spearing straight through Vallion's very soul. "Tell me about your will. What propelled you forward, despite the uselessness of it all. I want to know what strength you found that saved us all. I _need_ to know."

There was something so desperate in the way that Alexander had looked at him that Vallion found himself breathless. This fellow human, who was so much older and wiser than he was, needed to hear something that only he could say. Mind like a raging maelstrom, the Snivy kneaded his eyes. "...It was at the point where we had collapsed. Our scarves had failed, our bodies were battered, and the end of the world was here. Everything was doomed, that was it. And I think the worst part of it all is that I felt absolutely fine with that.

"But then I heard Panne's voice. I looked over and saw her lying beside me. I saw her smile, like she was trying to make me feel better. I..." He began to shake, his heart picking up speed. The old feelings were rushing back like a tidal wave. "Our time together was over, and I didn't like that. The world she loved was about to end, and I didn't like that, either. Here she was, giving me the best grin she could physically give me, believing with all her heart that things were going to be okay. I looked into her eyes and realized that she was about to die, too."

"Then it was love?" Alexander said.

Vallion nearly choked. His cheeks caught on fire as he quickly reached over and downed the rest of his tea, stringing out as many seconds as he could so that his chest could stop thumping so hard. "I guess you're right. I wish I could say it was something a little more noble, you know? It's kind of embarrassing to admit that I saved the world because I thought a Fennekin was really cute."

Whatever the Serperior thought about his explanation, it seemed like it was at least satisfactory. "Tell me of Panne's dream," Alexander inquired. "If your story is anything like mine, then she must have had her own aspirations, right? You certainly weren't thrust into this world with as much direction."

"Her dream is to build a map of the world. That's why we're in the Expedition Society," he replied promptly.

"And you know of Reinhardt's old dream, correct?"

Vallion nodded. The Serperior seemed to find amusement in this, or at least enough reason to smile. "Then maybe you would understand more than anyone why I need to make civilization here. You would save the world just so that Panne would have a place to make a map of. It's the same concept for me. We've built our Paradise, but it's only one city in one corner of the world. There's still so much we can do-" Alexander suddenly cut off. His eyes glazed over once more, falling to the stone table before him. He frowned at the empty clay cup like it was some kind of horrible disappointment. "We'll have to continue this conversation later. There are important matters to attend to and I nearly forgot about them. Reinhardt will return with Panne soon. Stay here and wait for them."

Without any further explanation, Alexander left his coil and wrapped his body around the trunk of a nearby tree. He effortlessly slithered up onto the branches above and disappeared into the canopy. The silence and precision in the way the Serperior moved was almost otherworldly, like he was just a ghost all along.

Before he knew it, Vallion was alone. He sat still for a few moments longer, still processing everything that just happened. His legs prickled up as soon as he tried to stand. How long had they been talking for, anyway? It couldn't have been long, the sun hadn't moved all that far across the sky since they began. Still, it felt he'd been sitting there for months. It was still all so hard to believe.

The forest had gone quiet. Vallion turned his nose to the tiny passage that lead into Alexander's lair and started to crawl. It was strange how this place could exist in a mystery dungeon to begin with. Wouldn't everything just shift around and completely separate these tunnels? It was hard to imagine how that worked, even harder with everything else floating around in his brain. Didn't help that his chest was still thumping away, either. Images of Panne's face still flashed past his eyelids whenever he blinked, and he could still hear her laugh echoing in the deepest parts of his ears. Alex really did make him think too hard about it, didn't he? So distracting...

Once the passage opened up once more, the Snivy found himself in the original grove. He swiftly found a comfortable tree trunk and slid down the bark, resting the back of his head on its rough texture. However long the search took, Panne would come back to him safe and sound. There was so much he had to talk about with her now. Not just the human stuff, but about the way he felt, too. It was already too hard to bottle up before, but now it might as well have been impossible. How would he even confess something like that? Honestly, that was the hardest part about all of this.

He should have been meditating on everything Alexander had told him, but he couldn't help it but start to fantasize about a Snivy coiling around a Fennekin in front of a waning fire in the middle of the night. They'd nuzzle their noses together, not saying a word but communicating the equivalent of thousands. It didn't even matter if that was the end of it. He'd just be content with being with her...

..Zzzz..


	4. Fragile

"Val!"

The Snivy's eyes shot open as he jolted upwards, a startled snort reverberating through his sinuses. He heard Panne call his name, but...there was no one here. Maybe it was the tail-end of a dream?

After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the grove. The cracks in the canopy where he could see the sky had turned a fiery orange from when he last saw them. He must have dozed off for at least a few hours. Damn it, that lack of sleep really came back with a vengeance, didn't it? Maybe he should have-

"Vaaaal!"

This time, he was certain that it wasn't just a hallucination. The noise was closer than before, but still so far away that he could barely hear it. Vallion sprung up, nearly fell back over as the rest of his body finished waking up, then rushed for the exit. He plowed through the verdant path as fast as his legs could carry him, twigs and leaves smacking him in the face the whole way through. The feeling in his gut only grew stronger with each step. She only shouted like this when things were bad. Something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

As the Snivy burst out into the clearing, the merciless sunset immediately blinded him. He shielded himself from the harsh light and scanned the area, but there was nothing but the river. Another shout came from downstream, way closer than before. Vallion squinted against the sun and caught sight of a silhouette, bounding towards him from farther down the bank. He could recognize those bouncy ears from a mile away.

"Val, look!" Panne shouted as they ran towards one another. Straining his eyes even further, he could see another short, shadowy figure running beside her. It was impossible to tell just what pokemon it was before the distance closed between them entirely, but when it did, Vallion could only gasp in surprise. The Larvesta skidded to a halt in the dirt, panting hungrily for air.

"Did you guys run all this way?" Vallion sidled up beside the Fennekin to keep her from falling over. "Geez, I can't believe you found Larvesta already! Are you guys hurt? Is something wrong?"

Panne's first reply consisted entirely of gibberish, her words buried beneath wheezes. After a few moments, and an exaggerated gulp of air, she made a second attempt. "It was crazy, where I found her...She was in this cave, behind a cell like a prisoner or something...And then Reinhardt...Hold the heck on I'm gonna die."

The Larvesta spoke with a dire clarity despite being even more winded than Panne. "We have, to keep moving. We shouldn't stop here."

"What? What's going on? What do you mean she was in a cell?" Vallion tried his best to understand what the two were muttering about, but the urgency got across just fine. "What's that about Reinhardt? Weren't you supposed to be searching with him?"

Panne turned her head and searched for the hulking figure, as if suddenly realizing that was the agreement in the first place. She shrugged and heaved a bit longer before speaking again. "I'm pretty sure I told him we should split up. He was super slow, and way worse at searching than I am. I thought maybe we'd be able to cover more ground separately, right? You know, now that I think about it, I'm not entirely sure if he heard me."

While Panne openly pondered the last few hours, Larvesta paced back and forth in the grass, rearing to keep running. "Guys, we really need to go," she gasped out.

Before Vallion could ask what they were running from, a sinister voice emerged from the brush. "Leaving so soon?"

Just the sound of the voice made Larvesta leap straight behind Vallion's back in fear. Vallion recognized the silky dialect almost immediately, and was reaffirmed when Alexander slithered down from the trees, deftly traversing the forest onto level ground with the rest of them. The Serperior had turned on his glare again, vicious and unrelenting. It was the kind of look that a predator would give its prey seconds before the killing strike. "I'm not certain our conversation was quite finished."

Panne didn't seem affected at all by the pokemon's menacing aura, and even slipped into a tired little kneel before him. "Hiya, your majesty! We found who we were looking for!" she said with a grin. "What were you two talking about for so long, anyway? How can you guys talk for so long and _still_ not be done?"

"I'm afraid that will have to wait. It seems you two have stumbled into a much...harsher conversation." Every time Alexander spoke, Vallion could feel the Larvesta tremble from behind him. This wasn't just an effect from how intimidating the Serperior was. It was genuine, unhinged terror.

"What do you mean?" The Snivy straightened his back, lowered his head, and glared straight back into Alexander's crimson eyes. He couldn't let himself shrink down forever! "Why is this Larvesta so scared of you? And why was she saying that we should keep running, unless we're in danger?"

Alexander waited a moment to respond, but never looked away. If there was a cup of tea within vine's reach, he would have definitely taken a sip in thought. "There are times when we all must bend the truth. For leaders as powerful as you or me, the straight and narrow path is far too rigid, and I do truly, truly hope that you two try to understand." The Serperior raised his nose to the air, and gave his royal decree. "The Larvesta must stay here, for the safety of both this forest and the pokemon under my rule."

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on!" Panne interjected. "Why on earth would she need to do that? I mean, do you really think that this little Larvesta is gonna burn down the whole forest or something? And I thought you said that you didn't know anything about Larvesta when we asked you the first time! You were lying, then?"

"I bent the truth. I couldn't provide any information, as it would have undermined this entire operation. Though, perhaps I made a mistake in lying to you two..." Alexander almost sounded remorseful for a second. But just for a second. "Still. What's done is done, and the whole truth has been revealed. I had been secretly keeping Larvesta in the forest, and preventing her from leaving entirely."

Panne threw her ears back and lunged forward a few feet, her teeth bared for all to see. "Then that cell was yours? And the guard?! I thought that was a bandit! I took that guy out thinking that she was captured by a bunch of outlaws, but it was really your pokemon?! You kidnapped her! You kidnapped Larvesta and tried to fool us into thinking you didn't know anything about it!"

Alexander didn't have time to come up with a response. More shouting came from down the river, but it was from a deep, gruff voice. Reinhardt came stomping along the riverbank until he got close enough to clearly see the scene that had unfolded. With each second that went by, the jolly pokemon's expression grew darker and darker, and his jaunt slowed to a halt. He just kept staring at the Larvesta. "I'm sorry, Alex. Panne managed to run off the second I looked away. I checked the cave, but it was already too late when I got there."

"Worry nothing of it, friend," the Serperior chimed as he slithered a little closer. "We can still resolve this, I'm sure of it. I'll finally have a chance to face my conscience. Maybe then, I'll finally be able to come to a real decision about what to do next."

Panne postured herself between Larvesta and Alexander, snarling with rage every time she exhaled. "What decision? There's no other decisions to make! You even split me and Val up so that Reinhardt could just lead me in the wrong direction all day! Start explaining, now! You got thirty seconds before I burn you to a crisp!"

Out of respect rather than fear, Alexander backed away. He didn't look bothered at all. If anything, he looked a bit relieved. "Reinhardt and I are trying to build a paradise in a place that it should be impossible. When we came here, we expected a lot of dissent towards our idea, and that was exactly what we got. The Poliwrath, who were the masters of this territory, felt threatened and tried to eject us outright. They lost. The denizens of this dungeon who respected their power had come to respect ours instead, and thus, our ideas for the future.

"But a show of power alone wasn't enough to win over the entire forest. There were still many pokemon who hated us with every fiber of their being. To keep things from escalating, we pushed them out to find a new home. Among these pokemon were two Volcarona, and they were absolutely the most dangerous threats to our dream out of everything. That pair would tear about this entire valley just to remove me. If there was no forest at all, nobody would call this place their home. There'd be nothing left to rule over but a mountain of ash. That was their hate."

"So you decided to hold a child hostage?" Panne interrupted. "You're not making your case sound any better! After all this lying and deceit, all I can see is a dirty kidnapper who would rather risk destroying an entire forest than finding some other place to build stupid buildings on! The only reason those Volcarona aren't blasting you apart is because you took their kid hostage!"

Alexander's patience and demeanor continued to shine. "They were no hostage. Such a word implies that any harm would come to them should things not go my way, but that Larvesta was treated with more hospitality than even the both of you. Her presence here is saving dozens of miles of living space and the countless lives of pokemon from either side of the conflict."

The Fennekin spat on the ground. "A cell and a guard-that's what you call hospitality? You've lied so much that it looks like you're starting to believe in them yourself! Come on, Val! We're taking this Larvesta back to her parents and heading home," As Panne started to walk away, Reinhardt, who was still quite distant, clearly moved with the intent to intercept her path. She started to shout at the Chesnaught, too. "If you have to resort to kidnapping scared little kids to save your kingdom, then it wasn't meant to be saved at all! Now let us leave!"

"It's such pity," Alexander began in that emotionless sort of way. "I would honestly stand here all night and try to plead my point to you, but it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice anymore. Vallion."

As the Snivy heard his name called, it felt as though reality had suddenly snapped back into place, as if he had been dreaming all up until this very point. The king continued, "I really have to apologize for placing this burden on you, but you understand so much more than she has had the chance to. You know exactly why I can't just give up on this place. It's not about right or wrong anymore."

Each of the Serperior's eyes were like spotlights, burning holes into Vallion's head that seemed to cut his thoughts in half. Everything was going so, so wrong. This was another human-more than a one-in-a-million kind of encounter. There probably wasn't more than a handful of humans on the entire planet. Maybe they were the only two even in existence right now. What was the use in fighting? Alexander didn't even seem all that bad, even if his ambition seemed to have lead him straight into a corner. He was correct, this really wasn't about right or wrong anymore. The wrong had already been done. This was a judgement.

Vallion glanced over at Panne, and almost instantly the world stopped spinning as much. He could hear the gentle burbling of the river, and feel the chilly afternoon wind brush past his scales. She looked so confident in him-almost faithful. She trusted him more than anyone else in the entire world. They were going to leave together, no matter what. And even then, the Larvesta shivering with fear just punctuated that point. This was always going to be about Panne in the end. If he agreed with Alexander, she would have had to walk out of here alone, and just the thought of that alone was too much to bear.

"I'm sorry," was all Vallion uttered at first. He turned towards the Serperior-towards the only person that understood what being a human meant-and shook his head. "The Larvesta's going back to her parents. That was our mission, after all. Anything that happens afterwards has nothing to do with us."

There was a very long stretch of silence. What was left of the sun still beamed straight into the Snivy's eyes as he squinted at his enemy. Alexander just frowned and shook his head. "Look at us, Reinhardt. Now we're the villains that need to be apprehended. Quagsire would be so angry with us..." He let out a massive sigh. "You know we can't let you three leave, right? As much as I regret that it has to be this way, I've already made my choice on this matter days ago. I can't stop what's been set in motion. I just wish it didn't have to be against you, Vallion. I really, really do."

Vallion shuddered at the faint sound of vines unraveling. Two thin tendrils extended from Alexander's body, curling menacingly at his sides. "When do you think the last time that two people like us have met? A hundred years, maybe? A thousand? Maybe it's never even happened before. That's what makes this so ironic."

"I'll take Reinhardt," Panne whispered from beside him. "You take the king."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Alexander chimed in, his ends of his vines shimmering with a green light that rivaled even the setting sun. The glow flattened the vines down to an extremely fine point, forming two blades that were at least half a meter long. The Serperior lowered his head and reared his neck backwards, ready to lunge forward at the drop of a pin. "Show me the strength you used to save the world, and I will show you mine."

Having ushered the Larvesta back, Vallion started towards the Serperior with his own vines drawn and ready. They began to circle each other in a delicate dance of intense calculation. He had to throw away his emotions and put all his reservations to the side. No matter what Alexander was before all this, he was simply another dangerous foe meant to be analyzed and taken down. The most immediate threat was definitely those massive blades, especially since there was no way to tell their true range without seeing the full unfurled length of the vines they were attached to. One of the few things he knew for sure was that Alexander had more range than he did. Why wouldn't a Serperior have longer vines than a Snivy?

There was only one way to find out for sure. Vallion broke the stalemate and charged. His intentions were to try and gauge a reaction, rushing in and out of range without really trying to land an attack. Alexander didn't even flinch. He just stared at the Snivy with the same unrelenting gaze, completely unfazed by every feint that came his way, the wavering glow of his blades casting their light on either side of his face. Vallion's whipping vines cracked closer and closer to the Serperior's face until contact was finally made, but it was only with the blunt side of a blade, a mere inch from Alex's face. The swords came down like a whirlwind of steel.

The Snivy sped away as fast as he could, nearly getting slashed twice just on the exit. Alexander retracted his vines and went back to his original stance, defensive and impenetrable. The next time Vallion rushed in to attack, he did so from a much farther distance, but the result was much the same. His whips were quickly parried away, and the two blades swept dangerously close to his head. He could feel the air displaced by the swords brush across his scales, certain death whistling right by his ear. The Serperior crossed his blades like a pair of scissors and aimed straight for Vallion's torso. He dodged the hell out of the way of that one, ducking low to the dirt and rolling out of the way.

His attacks were nothing compared to the Serperior's. Even when Vallion did manage to land a good strike with his vines, the laceration it caused was an annoyance at best. Meanwhile the Snivy was forced to dance for his life as two verdant claymores slashed at neck, missed, and carved huge swathes out of the grass in his stead. He could only dodge like that for so long before something went wrong. As he jumped out up over a wide sweeping attack, the other blade came out of the corner of his eye and nearly took off his head. He could have sword that it missed, but the broad side of that same blade came down hard on the back of his head, the impact rattling through his skull like an earthquake and knocking him down instantly. The world spun endlessly, red hot pain spreading down into his neck. A constant ringing echoed in the very deepest parts of his ears.

Vallion stumbled to a stand and hurried out of the way, but if Alexander wanted him dead, he would have been dead a long time ago. Something was definitely wrong, he was absolutely certain he got out of the way of that sword. He knew where both vines were, what could've-! Oh! Realization swept across his dazed mind as he caught a glimmer of the golden brace around Alexander's neck. Suddenly he knew the identity of at least one of the emeras: Barrage. Now he had to account for a possible afterimage whenever a swing missed.

"You're strong," Alexander said, only just now starting to run out of breath. "But I've been doing this for a lifetime longer than you have. I've been on thousands of adventures, apprehended countless outlaws, and helped Reinhardt pave the way for a better world with my own sweat and blood. You have a long way to go."

"Shut up! You talk too much!" Vallion screamed back, still too stunned from the blow to rush back in. He felt a burst of hot wind run over his skin and turned towards to the battle that was parallel to his own. Panne was completely battering Reinhardt with blast after fiery blast, not giving the Chesnaught even a moment's rest. Still, Reinhardt endured the punishment with relative ease, and definitely seemed like he was going to outlast Panne if she kept exerting herself like that. Vallion sucked in an anxious gasp, which ended up hurting the muscles in his back even more. "I won't be much longer...Promise."

The next time the Snivy went in to strike, he went in as close as he possibly could. The idea was that Alex's blades were way too large to use in such a short range, and after a blinding flurry of motion and two whips to the Serperior's long torso, that seemed to be the case. Vallion snapped around Alexander's flank and landed another slash in his back before he could twist around. The blades swung at too wide of an arc to hit him, even with the added dexterity of being at the end of vines. The world blurred past in a frenzy of stray swings and snapping whips. By the time Vallion pulled out of range, his fingers prickled with primal excitement, and he hadn't blinked in at least half a minute.

Alexander didn't wait for him to catch his breath. The Serperior took after him, slithering twice as fast as he could run. There wasn't even a chance for him to roll out of the way. Vallion felt a pair of jaws close around his torso and scoop him straight out of his sprint. All he could do was brace himself as Alexander thrashed him from left to right, tearing into him with razor teeth. After what seemed like an eternity, Vallion found himself sailing through the air like a ragdoll, finally landing on the scraping gravel of the river's shore. It took him five agonizing seconds before he was finally able to take in another breath. Okay, his lungs hadn't been crushed yet. That was good.

A moment later, the Snivy was back on his feet. Alexander was waiting for him at the top of the riverbank, his crimson glare bright when beside the darkening violet sky. There were no more words-nothing more that needed to be said that their actions hadn't already. Even just their silent staring contest spoke loud and clear. "You're still standing. So am I. Come forth."

What a foolish mistake that would turn out to be. Vallion remained on the offensive even up until that point, charging up the incline at his foe with his vines fully drawn. The skirmish lasted all of a few seconds before one of the glowing blades somehow sneaked its way into his peripheral vision. Before panic could even set in, the claymore lopped off his vine from the shoulder up. He cried out in a startled jolt of pain, just long enough for Alexander to swing his tail and knock the Snivy right back onto the gravel beach.

The stinging sensation was unearthly. The raw wound of his freshly destroyed vine burned balefully from within its sheath, along with all the other parts of him that screamed in agony. Vallion did manage to stand up even now, but the pain was starting to become unbearable, and he was already teetering dangerously close to exhaustion. That yellow emera in Alexander's brace had to be Type Bulldozer, he was sure of it. He'd gotten his vines trimmed off before, and in no way did it ever hurt as badly as it did now.

Meanwhile, Alexander hadn't moved an inch. What few wounds he did have oozed blood freely, but it hardly seemed to have much of an effect. He slithered down the bank with an almost pitiful gait, like he was deeply regretful of what he was about to do.

No. No! With a mighty grunt of effort, Vallion managed to push himself up one last time. He wasn't out of the fight yet! As long as he still had one more vine, there was always a chance! A quiet grunt fell out of his mouth as he forcibly straightened his posture, a disconcerting pop coming from his spine. This wasn't even the worst situation he's even been in! There's always a way to win!

And yet, no matter how much he talked himself up, Vallion didn't stand a chance. Alexander stuck his blade forward and swung. The Snivy raised his remaining vine to block the attack, but it was effortlessly sliced away. Another unavoidable slash came down on his side, then Barrage activated once more and opened a second gash in his flesh. Dazed and reeling, he clutched at the hot liquid that ran through his fingers and fell to the earth. A heavy blow bashed him in the back of the head while he was down. A sickening darkness nearly enveloped everything.

He teetered at he threshold of unconsciousness, barely even aware of what was going on around him. The only two options that were given to him was an empty void, and a horrible, aching wakefulness that made him want to vomit in pain. In his vague comprehension, he felt himself be lifted into the air, twirled around for a bit, then tossed back down with little care. A pathetic whine was the only thing that escaped his throat, and even then he barely noticed that it was a noise he had made in the first place. Everything sounded so far away and distorted.

"I'm sorry," that silky voice he had come to detest spoke from above him. "I didn't want this at all. One day, when we are both wiser, I hope that you would find it in your heart to forgive me. Until that point, stay down."

Vallion flipped between pain and unconsciousness for an indecipherable amount of time. The bliss of falling into a painless emptiness fought viciously with the vague knowledge that he absolutely needed to be awake, but couldn't quite remember why. Whatever sounds he picked up were indecipherable in this state of mind, but he could still feel an urgency in hearing them. The world was falling apart, wasn't it? Something went wrong. He made some sort of mistake and now everything is broken. How was he supposed to fix it?

"Val! Please get up! Please!"

The Snivy immediately jolted awake as soon as he heard Panne, who howled in anguish above his beaten body. She was in danger. She sounded so sad and scared, desperate to make things better again. The river's burbling flowed in through one ear and out the other, but Panne's cries caught in his chest like arrows. Trembling and bloody, the Snivy started to rise-if only just to stop hearing such despair in the voice he loved.

Alexander and Reinhardt loomed in the distance, their features silhouetted by the emerging dusk sky. A small crowd of the forest's denizens had gathered, jeering at the top of their lungs beside their newest master. Larvesta shivered behind him, desperate to leave and never see this place again. He felt some jagged mass press into his side, and slowly realized it was Panne's bag. He fell back into a dazed trance for a few seconds before a wet nose nudged urgently against his cheek.

"You're alright..!" Panne gasped out, the relief in her voice practically palpable. Still, she nudged him on. "Come on! Take my stuff, take Larvesta, and go! You don't have much time!"

Vallion took in a rugged gulp of air and gripped the bag to his chest, grunting at the throbbing pangs of pain that came with the process. His side felt too sticky and hot. Even now, when everything seemed like when it was falling apart, he still didn't want to leave her. "Not without you."

Alexander sauntered over at his own pace, but the wall of flames that appeared in his path was too intense even for him. Panne whipped back around, cinders still flying up from the side of her mouth. "Please, you need to go! I can catch up later!"

He shook his head. She wasn't going to catch up later at all. She was going to hold them off while they escaped. For as little energy as he had to protest, it was still Panne's last command that shook him to his core, her voice cracking as it erupted from her dry throat.

"GO!"

The Snivy glanced over to Larvesta, gathered up his nerves, and charged down the riverbank with reckless abandon. As the world blurred by, he briefly he glimpses of more wildlings that had gathered to watch the battle. They shouted with rage, moved in to chase, and some even shot off a few attacks in their direction. None of them were quick enough. With Larvesta at his heels, Vallion had only one feral directive guiding his entire body: Run. And so he ran, faster and faster, nearly numb to the pain as adrenaline surged through his bruised muscles. He had to look down just to remember that he was holding a bag of supplies, unsure of whether he had dropped it somewhere along the way.

Once they had made enough headway that the voices grew distant, Vallion made a wild turn and crashed into a wall of brush, plowing through the thicket without a care. Without any sunlight left in the sky, the forest was filled instead with an impregnable, inky blackness, and he could only vaguely see the outlines of trees at all. He tumbled down invisible inclines, tripped over entire bushes, and caught himself on every twig and thorn that appeared in his path. He felt it all, but he didn't slow down. The only thing he kept track of was whether the Larvesta was still behind him or not.

Vallion couldn't think. His exhaustion and injuries took up the entire scope of his concentration, and whatever was left of his mind focused on running. He heard Panne's parting scream, echoing back and forth in his ears like a siren. It wouldn't go away. Even without thinking about it, he knew she was still back there, alone. That fact ate at him more than any gash or laceration.

There was overhanging bunch of ivy, and behind it was a hidden recess at the base of a small cliff. Vallion immediately collapsed into that cavity of earth and retched. As soon as he stopped moving, gravity felt like it had intensified fifty times. As soon as he was done coughing up in pain, the Snivy tumbled over and laid on his back. It felt like just the wind pressure alone had pinned all his limbs to the ground. He tried to look over and saw both the Larvesta and the bag of supplies, though both looked worse for wear. Still, that was good. Both of those things needed to be okay and they were.

Only the most unwelcome thoughts had popped into Vallion's head as he rested. He mostly couldn't help but imagine Panne, standing her ground against a fight she couldn't possibly win, hoping with all her might that he and the Larvesta made it out. If Alexander didn't brutalize her first, how was she supposed to get past all the wildlings? Whatever slim chance she had to actually make it out of there in one piece, it wasn't enough to even consider. He could only sit and pray that Alex would keep to his nature and let Panne live. Surely he would, right? If he didn't...

"Uh, mister?" Larvesta's timid voice cut through the ringing in Vallion's ears. He had almost forgotten there was even someone else here in the first place. "You don't look so good."

The Snivy tried to chuckle, but what emerged instead was a morbid cough. "Yeah. Sure don't," he muttered, his throat painfully hoarse. "But hey, we came here to rescue you, and we did. There's that at least."

"Do you know where my parents are?" Larvesta asked.

"Ha. I have no idea..." Vallion groaned as he attempted to sit up against the dirt wall, only to be overcome with nausea and sent back down. He barely had time to turn away before the taste of bile and blood filled his mouth. All he could do was concentrate on breathing. Hot tears streamed down his face, stinging at some of the scratches that were left from their reckless escape. He spit out the last of the foul residue. "Not a freakin' clue. Should've figured that one out before we got here."

Business. Gotta get down to business. They were safe, but he was still dying. Be it from bleeding out, or infection, or whatever else it was that was probably killing him right now. Vallion winced in pain as he reached over and started to trifle through Panne's equipment bag. It would have been way more convenient if he had a vine or two to help him search, but it'd be at least a week before those started to grow back.

First he pulled out a canteen of lukewarm water and took a massive drink, very nearly getting sick a third time. He offered some to the Larvesta, then poured what was left over onto the two big gashes on his side. After an excruciating amount of stinging, he pulled out some gauze and began to wrap his torso up tight. As it turned out, he also had a few broken ribs that he was blissfully unaware of before applying all that pressure, so that's cool. After a few minutes and another flood of tears, he was all set to not die for a few more hours.

Vallion eased himself back into a sitting position and exhaled for what felt like the first time in an hour. The sky had darkened to a deep blue as the last light of day died away, and through the leaves came the slight glow of the moon. If anyone under Alex's orders managed to track them down now, he'd be a goner. There's no way he could fight in this condition, and with all the blood and debris he probably left behind, a good hunter might not even need the light...

...What were they gonna do? It's not like he could just call up the Society and get back-up on the way. Half of them were in the Mist Continent at this very second, and the other half had to take the same route here as always, meaning a day's wait at the very least. He needed to get this Larvesta back to her parents as soon as possible, but above anything else, he needed to save Panne. God no, he wasn't going to lose her again. Never, ever again. As long as he still had a single breath in his lungs, he'll rip open the throats of anybody that comes between him and Panne, even if they tore off everything but his head.

And yet, when the distant sound of flapping wings came overhead, that bravado melted away and a shiver raced down his spine. Have they already found out where they were hiding? Larvesta, being the most mobile of the two, stuck her head out from underneath the curtain of vines to peer at the pokemon above the trees. The silent moment that passed was excruciating enough, but it only got worse when the little bug type gasped and started to shout. "Fearow, Fearow! Down here!"

"Holy heck, girl! Keep your voice down!" Vallion rasped, shifting uncomfortably from his spot. "You're going to wake up the whole damn forest if you keep screaming like that! There's no telling how many of the king's scouts are out here!"

"But I know that guy! He can help us!" she protested. Before Vallion could tell her to make absolutely certain she wasn't mistaken, Larvesta had already turned back and shouted up to the heavens. Sure enough, the sound of rustling feathers began to draw closer. No use in fighting against it now, he guessed. The only thing he could do pray that this Fearow was the same one that the kid was thinking of and not one that was going to pluck their eyes out.

The winged creature carefully descended past the canopy, knocking a flurry of leaves from the branches it latched onto on the way down. Larvesta shot out from beneath their hiding place without a second thought. Vallion cursed under his breath, then groaned as he struggled to get to his feet and follow her.

"Larvesta, is that really you?" a masculine voice emerged from the flying type's beak. Fearow finally landed atop a fallen log, craning their head to examine Larvesta on the ground. "If that's really you, then what happened to the Serperior? How did you get away? Are you being chased?" Their questions fell away as they noticed Vallion shambling forward, using every bit of passing scenery to support himself. "Wow, what happened to you?"

Larvesta introduced him first. "That Snivy and a Fennekin are the ones who saved me! They're from the Expedition Society!..But they weren't good enough to beat the Serperior. We had to run away, but we made it out!" The bug type was practically hopping in place at the sight of this Fearow.

"Is that so?" the Fearow said, then slowly turned to get a better look at Vallion. "You fought with that Serperior. I can tell. Your injuries are much the same as the Poliwrath. Where is the Fennekin?"

Vallion nearly choked, a fresh wave of grief flooding into his aching chest. "Only captured, hopefully. She fought them off to buy us a chance to escape. We had already lost by that point."

"Oh," was all Fearow had to say on the matter. They turned back to the Larvesta. "Anyway, I need to get you two out of here. I had heard from the others that there was a big fight down by the river, but I never would have thought it was about you. Come, hop up on my back. The encampment isn't too far from here if we hurry. Your parents are there."

Even in the darkness, Larvesta's eyes lit up like fireworks. "Really!? You'll let me fly with you? But every other time I asked you said no!"

"Who cares? I'm not walking you back." Fearow stepped down onto the forest floor, then shot a glance towards Vallion. "And you can barely walk in the first place. There is help at camp. Come."

Vallion graciously thanked the Fearow before he gathered up Panne's bag and limped towards them. The flying type knelt low and extended their wing to allow Larvesta up. It didn't help Vallion much, but he eventually found the strength to pull himself onto the Fearow's back. Once aboard, he flattened himself between their wings and tucked the supplies dearly beneath his chest. He didn't really have the energy to think, so he just held on tight and waited while his eyes glazed over.

Take-off was a horrible, lurching mess. Vallion's nausea came back with a vengeance, which he barely managed to keep under control as they took to the air. Larvesta, on the other hand, laughed and screamed in sheer joy as they rose above the treeline and into the sky. The Snivy didn't dare to open his eyes, gripping the Fearow's feathers so hard that they reared back and nearly pecked him. He had become painfully aware of the fact that he no longer had his vines, and that if he somehow slipped off now. there was nothing he could do to catch himself in the final seconds. It would have been over.

It took an eternity, but when the Fearow finally found a proper glide, the turbulence began to fade away. As soon as the urge to vomit waned, Vallion gathered up his courage and opened an eye. He gasped at the sight and lifted his whole head soon after. There were thousands upon thousands of treetops, gently highlighted by the moon's silver light. The far horizon was filled with the mountains that cut the continent in two, whose widening caps of ice glowed against the black sky. He had seen a whole lot of beautiful views, but this one was certainly up there with the best. There wasn't a single grounded pokemon on the planet who didn't dream of flying like this at least once.

Larvesta definitely seemed like the kind of pokemon who had that dream often. Her excited eyes danced over the landscape like an artist who had just made their most wondrous painting yet. There wasn't a hint of fear in her squeals, only the purest childish joy, like this was her most favorite thing in the entire world. That look of sheer, innocent happiness reminded him of Panne again. The Snivy just kept his nose low to Fearow's back and closed his eyes for the rest of the journey.

The landing ended up being just as jarring as the ascent, but at least it ended with a thud rather than more turbulence. Before Vallion could open his eyes again, he could already hear curious murmurs coming from all directions, voices both distant and nearby. When he looked up, the first thing he noticed was the flames of a large fire pit in the middle of the field they had landed in. Small crowds of pokemon had gathered around the pit, but individuals could be seen all the way out towards the edges of the treeline. There were all sorts of species here, from the temporary nests up in the trees all the way to the freshly-dug burrows dotted along the clay-filled hills, but they all had a common goal in mind: Excising Alexander from their home.

The sullen bickering that filled the air went quiet as soon as he and Larvesta dismounted Fearow. Murmurs turned to shouts. Word spread quickly among the wildlings, and it wasn't long before two Poliwrath emerged from the brush. They garnered enough respect that the crowds willingly parted to grant them a path directly to the Larvesta. A quick stream of orders were barked, people shifted about through the field, and a Whimsicott came over with the apparent duty of escorting the Larvesta back to her parents. All of this happened over the matter of half a minute, which was pretty freaking fast considering how disorganized wildlings usually were.

By definition, their mission had been completed then and there. If Panne were here, they would have rested up for the night and left for the Society the next morning. But she wasn't, and he wasn't quite finished with Poliwrath River. Vallion shuddered and began to limp over to the Poliwrath, who had become locked in a heated discussion with one another. The Poliwag at their feet darted around as if it was unsure of which side to agree with.

"Excuse me," The Snivy interrupted them without a second thought. He didn't have the energy to care about manners anymore. "You guys heard of the fight by the river, right? Do you know anything about what happened with a Fennekin there?"

The Poliwrath didn't seem angry at him. In fact, they mostly looked surprise that someone as screwed up as him was still walking and talking. "Hmm? No, nobody told us anything about a Fennekin."

The taller one was next to speak. "What happened to you, Snivy? Did a herd of Tauros run you over?"

Vallion sighed. "No. I got ran over by the Serperior for trying to rescue Larvesta, and my partner got caught in the cross-fire and held them off while we got away. You guys seriously don't remember us? We used to live in Serene Village and everything."

"There are many more Poliwrath than just us," the shorter one responded with a grunt. "But you are the team the Volcarona sent for, then? Good. With Larvesta back, they will finally cooperate. Now the false king won't stand a chance against the combined strength of our forces. We can't give him any more time to prepare!"

The Snivy cut in before the Poliwratch could go off on their heroic tangent. "Now hold on just a minute. All of these pokemon are here because you're going to stage an assault on the guy?"

The taller one leaned in, their face plastered with pride and defiance. Apparently he had hit the correct nerve. "It was our land before that arrogant coward swept in and turned the weak against us! He is strong, but that's all he is, and the fools that follow him merely because of that will suffer the price! We _will_ earn our homes back and we _will_ purge the weak from our territory."

The other Poliwrath continued on after their counterpart had finished. "Why do you ask? Does the Society disagree with this? Your mission is already done, you don't have any business here. Unless-are you planning to stop us?"

"No." Vallion exhaled. As horrible as he felt physically, his mind was clear. "If you're all going to attack the Serperior, I'm coming with you. I'm going to get my friend back. In fact, I don't even care if you're doing the assault or not. I'll go back in there and take everyone out myself. I'll blow the whole place to oblivion to get her out of there."

The Poliwrath turned towards one another and exchanged glances. They looked surprised, like they didn't realize they were dealing with Vallion as a person and not just another faceless guild member who only cared about missions or rewards. The shorter Poliwrath then nodded towards him. "The only thing we've been waiting on was the Volcarona, but with their firepower now in our hands, we will strike before dawn. We must be quick about it. The false king has spies everywhere, he knows."

"Are you sure you've got as much bite as your have bark, Snivy?" the taller one added. "If the Serperior has already done you in this badly, how are you supposed to fight with us? We don't need wounded pokemon weighing us down."

Vallion raised his nose to the air and patted the bag of supplies against his chest. "I fight with tools. The only reason the Serperior beat me was because I was unprepared. If you can bring more weapons to me, I'll be more than able to take on anyone. Wand, seeds, anything like that. An adventurer would know how to utilize things like that best, wouldn't he? They're much more potent in my hands than anyone else's."

"Hm. Fine," the short Poliwrath said, his face grim in the dull light of the fire. "We'll see what we can do. But, in return, you must give us information on the false king. Anything you've learned. If not, you may as well be one of his spies. Do you know what we do to-"

"His first emera is Barrage, so it's impossible to know whether you'll have to dodge twice," Vallion interrupted in a dead voice. "Second is Type Bulldozer, so trying to resist his attacks through brute force is futile. I believe he also has Clairvoyance, but it's hard to say, and it's not like he won't be seeing this attack coming from a mile away, anyway. I don't know the forth emera, and the fifth slot on his looplet is still open. He fights using two long leaf blades that extend from his vines, so close range is his weakest point. Can I _please_ have some supplies to fight with?"

The smaller Poliwrath still didn't seem convinced. "And what if you're lying, feeding us false information to try and throw us off?"

The Snivy just shrugged painfully. "Hurry up and kill me, then, if you're so adamant about me being a spy. But if that Serperior has touched a single hair on Panne's head I swear to god I will come back from the dead and twist his neck until his head pops off."

It was then that the tall Poliwrath finally stepped in. "Thank you for your cooperation and support. We'll get you your supplies once we're finished spreading word of the attack. Do what you will in our camp until dawn, then we can organize you into wherever you need to be."

Vallion just gave them a sullen nod before he slumped off in a random direction. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to walk. He wanted to lay down, and he wanted Panne back. There was too much commotion going on around him. Wildlings bickered and fought over their temporary little corners of territory, all the while waiting for some big swell of action to carry them out back their homes. The chattering was a constant from anywhere in the field, and it dug into Vallion's already throbbing skull like hundreds of tiny claws. He needed quiet.

Stumbling about blindly in a dark thicket didn't seem all too bad once the noise began to fall into the distance. A few minutes into his search for isolation, Vallion found a tiny hill that was eerily revealed by beams of moonlight, surrounded by the shadows of a densely-packed canopy. It was basically the only place he could find that wasn't totally surrounded with foliage. So, yeah. Good enough. The Snivy didn't even bother climbing up the insignificantly small ledge, instead preferring to walk all the way around and up a slope on the other side. As soon as he sat down, it felt like he was finally shedding a hundred pounds of weights onto the ground.

A sigh escaped from the deepest parts of his lungs as he laid his head down in the grass. The process of untying the pack on his chest would have normally taken several seconds, but ended up lasting several minutes from all the apathetic fiddling and failed attempts. When he finally did get the damn thing open, he didn't really bother grabbing anything from it. He felt filthy and hurt, and these bandages really needed to be changed, but that was a problem for future Vallion. Right now, he just wanted to drift away and die a little bit.

For as much as everything ached, the loneliness was sure to come creeping back into his chest before long. The pain would get boring and the empty space next to him would grow. There was no way he was getting any sleep. Not like this, not while things were so wrong. It hadn't even been twenty four hours since Panne crawled over to his bed in the dark and pulled him into her arms. Her fur had been so soft and warm, like the comfiest blanket in the universe that never existed. Now whenever he thought about her, Alexander's gruesome face appeared instead, his ruby eyes full of ambition and hate. It was a human's fault that all this happened. The only other one.

Dammit. Vallion idly clutched at his chest, attempted to erase the horrible feeling by sheer force of will, and failed miserably. Panne probably was feeling this same thing, too, miles and miles away from here. She was probably wounded, since there's no way she would have went down without a fight. Did she feel as hopeless as he did, or is it her unwavering faith in him that's keeping her going..? For all he knew, she could have been dead already. Maybe he was looking up at the moon and thinking about someone that isn't even alive anymore.

Any other pain would have felt fine-anything other than this. A lost limb would've been cool, he could have learned to deal with it. At the very least he wouldn't have needed it once fully evolved. But this- She couldn't be gone again, she couldn't! There was still so much he wanted to tell her! The moon began to blur with the tears that welled up in his eyes. Vallion had concluded that this was going to be a very, very long night.


	5. Heartstrings Drawn

After what seemed like a short eternity, the moon finally threatened to dip below the treeline, slowly taking with it the only light Vallion had to see by. It was more than just the passage of time, though. It was a countdown. With every new blade of grass the moonlight touched, he had slipped another moment closer to the inevitable dawn. He really just wished for a way to either slow down or expedite the excruciating process. This stupid intermediate pace was killing him from the inside.

The Snivy had already exhausted every form of procrastination which he could think of-everything but the Connection Orb that rested by his side. A fresh slew of bandages had already been applied to his slash wounds, perfectly clean and all too tight. He had found a pond nearby and cleaned himself, in addition to taking a few huge drinks to soothe his desolate throat. He had already cried all his anxious tears, so all that was left in his heart was a hollow, impatient feeling that wouldn't go away until it was time. With a preparatory sigh, Vallion reached over and snatched up the gadget. He stared into his own warped reflection, grimaced, and flicked a switch on its side.

A tiny storm of flickering lights appeared from within the blue sphere. It'd probably take a minute or two to get Dedenne's attention, especially at this hour. Luckily enough, he lacked the emotional capacity to feel any guilt for disturbing her sleep. After all, this was an emergency. You had to report emergencies as soon as possible.

A crackling sound gradually picked up in volume from inside the orb. A lengthy yawn was the first thing to come through. "Hm? Panne? Why are you calling me? It's half past midnight! Is something wrong, or are you just messing with me again?" Dedenne's voice was especially rugged. She was definitely sound asleep before this.

"Not Panne. Vallion," he answered, nearly surprised just hearing the sound of his own voice. "Who all didn't go on that expedition to Mist? How fast could they theoretically move if they left for Poliwrath River right now?"

"Vallion? What are you doing with Panne's gadget?" There was a brief pause as Dedenne's tired mind finally started to process his question. "Uh, lemme think for a second. Ampharos and I are still here, obviously. Jirachi had a bunch of work to do with their telescope so they stayed behind. Mawile locked herself in her room with that one weird engraving from the Grass Continent, so that makes four so far. I normally wouldn't count Swirlix anyway, but she actually ran off not to long ago. Nobody knows where she went...Wait, what's wrong?"

Dammit. He was really hoping Archen would have stayed behind. Then he'd only have to wait half a day. "Alright..." Vallion began with a shaky breath. "Panne's in trouble. I'm in trouble. Geez, the whole freaking forest's in trouble. I need all of you here as soon as possible, like right now soon. There's not much time left."

"Woah! Hold on just a minute there!" Dedenne gasped into the microphone. "Slow down. What is the actual situation there? I need details, otherwise nothing's going to make any sense and we can't help you."

"Okay so, there's a territorial dispute going on right now. It's not tiny. Pretty much half of the mystery dungeon is going to be at the throats of the other half by tomorrow morning and there's nothing I can do about it. I found the Larvesta and completed the mission, but Panne and I got twisted into the politics of the situation. She got captured, and I'm beat up way beyond usefulness. I'm basically going to be fighting for the side that doesn't have Panne so that I have a chance at getting her back." He thought about mentioning Alexander and his identity, but didn't bother saying anything. It really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and human business should probably stay between humans.

For a brief moment, there was only silence hanging on the line. The empty space droned on in his ears like a siren. "...What do you need? If the Larvesta's safe and the mission's all done, then this is a rescue mission for one of our own, right?"

"There's gonna be bloodshed. It probably won't be me doing it, but this forest's going to tear itself apart. As long as all of you are coming, we should only need medical supplies for the aftermath. Getting Panne back shouldn't be too difficult with everyone being distracted by the fighting. After she's free, we'll start tending to as many of the wounded as we can."

"But what about you?" The connection hiccuped slightly as Dedenne spoke. "You're too injured to protect yourself, right? How are you supposed to fight back when the conflict starts? I mean, do you even know where Panne's being held?"

Vallion cracked a slight smile, mostly just to fool himself. "I'll be fine. Don't waste any energy worrying about me, just focus on getting those supplies and getting here as quick as possible. I know this is a big ask, especially when none of you have gotten any sleep, but-"

"No buts. We'll be over as soon as possible. I promise on my entire career as an explorer!" Dedenne made a confident hum directly into the receiver. It was nearly too dark to see her face in the orb, but Vallion could make out a vaguely determined expression. "Don't get yourself killed in the meantime. This was supposed to be a simple search and rescue mission, not a matter of life and death. Take care." With a fizzle and a pop, the Connection Orb went dark, and so did everything around him.

With a heavy sigh, Vallion set the gadget aside and laid back down in the grass. There. It was done. That was all he had to do until morning finally came. Now the only thing left was to wait for the sun to come all the way back around. As exhausted as he was, there wasn't a snowball's chance in the Voidlands that he'll be able to fall asleep. He just had to stare up at the stars and hope that time starts to move faster.

There was a rustling from some bushes behind him. It was definitely _something_, there wasn't even any wind tonight. Vallion was slow to raise his head and glance around, more or less unfazed by the presence. Worst case scenario, it was someone coming to kill him, which really didn't feel all that threatening right about now. Best case scenario, Panne had someone escaped and finally found him. He was really, really hoping it was Panne.

"Uhm." It wasn't. A quiet voice murmured something from the base of his hill. A tiny figure stepped into the dull light in what was probably the least threatening way he could have imagined. Larvesta crawled out from underneath the brush and slowly skittered up towards him, refusing to make direct eye contact. "Uh. Hi."

"Hello." The Snivy muttered back, giving his neck a rest and dropping back down. He really needed a drink of water. "How long have you been standing there?"

Larvesta inched just a little bit closer, but still kept her distance. What, did he really look that bad? "Not long. I don't know," she whispered. There was a bag hooked onto one of her back legs, which she had a difficult time dragging up the slope. After a few moments of effort, she finally did manage to get up next to the Snivy, parcel and all.

"What's that you got there?" Vallion said, grunting as he forced himself to sit up once more.

She nudged the bag towards him with her head, which seemed a lot easier than dragging the damn thing through a forest with just her one leg. "The Poliwrath said they were going to give you supplies, but were too busy to bring them to you themselves. They let me do it 'cuz I wanted to help. I didn't think you'd be in the middle of nowhere, though..."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Vallion clutched the bag to his side, but didn't bother checking what was inside yet. He might as well draw it out for as long as possible. After all he had all the time in the world. Vallion turned away to gaze aimlessly a cluster of shadows, but when he didn't hear Larvesta scuttle away, he looked back and saw she had mimicked his stare.

Larvesta immediately glanced away once she noticed him. It took her a very long time to get over her timidness and finally ask what was on her mind, but the Snivy had all the patience in the world. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Ah. Well, that's just because I..." Wanted to be alone? No, that was hardly the case. Any company was better than sitting here and wallowing in his own misery. "...I just wanted some peace and quiet, I guess. That's all."

"But you've been out here for hours!" she exclaimed. "My dad told me it's not healthy to sit in one place for too long! He said it'll make you sick!"

Vallion shrugged. "I can't move too well right now, anyway." It's not like she needed to hear his life story or anything. This was just a kid. He couldn't expect her to understand how much he was going through right now.

And yet, that made it all the more surprising when the Larvesta didn't give up, and instead brought all of his insecurities out into the open with frightening accuracy. "Are you sad because that Fennekin's gone?"

A breath caught in the Snivy's throat like a jagged chunk of ice. Was it that obvious? Larvesta was there for the whole fight, but still! If he were this easy to read, Panne would have already noticed his crush a long time before even he knew about it himself.

There was no benefit in hiding it. "Yeah," he finally replied in a low tone. Honestly, it was just that simple, and the fact that he had so long to think about it was making everything seem way more complex than it was. He was sad, and that was pretty much that.

"Hrrmm..." Larvesta squinted into the darkness, then turned to Vallion with confidence. "I think she'll be fine! She was really strong when she found me, and broke me out of jail super-easily! She even beat up the guard in like, five seconds! I'm pretty sure she just broke out of jail again and tried to come here, but got lost somewhere."

Vallion gave a weak chuckle. "Maybe. She's definitely done crazier things in the past, so I wouldn't put it past her." Yeah, there was almost no chance Alexander would let someone as troublesome as her get away.

"Really?" Eyes as wide as the moon, Larvesta stared up at him with intense curiosity. "What kind of things?"

"Uh, well..." Vallion paused, having had a rather large list to choose from. While in the process of figuring out which tale to weave, he started to feel the oppressive weight on his shoulders start to lift. "Ah, okay! So there was one time that our mission took us into the murky depths of an undersea cavern, and its cold pools were teeming with vicious pokemon. To Panne, every corner we turned around could have been a deathtrap. This was a place that fire types were basically never meant to be, ever. Since I was a little more equipped to be down there, I took the lead.

"But in mystery dungeons, things'll never go the way you want them to. At one point, the soft sedimentary wall broke apart beside us and unleashed a huge torrent of water. We both ended up choosing different directions to run, and just like that, there was a hundred tons of water between the two us. Panne wasn't going to last five minutes with the creatures that were down there alone, so she started trying to sneak around, right? It'd be easier for me to find her than her to find me. That worked for a good while, but this is Panne we're talking about. Her greatest power is to get into trouble at the worst possible times. She somehow managed to trip and fall into a shadowy pit filled to her neck with water. By the time she was done splashing about, she realized that the place was absolutely teeming with water types, who all just saw her fall in and make a huge fuss."

Larvesta glared at him fiercely, unflinchingly following along. "Needless to say, that was kind of a tight spot. All those pokemon rushed at her at once. They would have torn her apart, too, but for as much trouble Panne's worth, she's more clever than you think. Swift as the wind, she pulled a warp seed out of her pack, biting down as hard as she could just seconds before disaster. For a brief moment, it seemed like her escape plan worked. She sighed with relief and turned around, only to realize that she had merely warped to the other side of the pit. The water types were as furious as ever, and she only had a few seconds before they all turned around and noticed that she was still there. With no way out and nowhere to hide, there was only one way Panne could survive."

He stopped mid-breath to create a little more dramatic tension. Panne was always the one who would tell the stories, but Vallion liked to think that he had at least picked up a few tricks. With the way Larvesta leaned in so close that she nearly tumbled forward, it seemed like he wasn't half bad. "What'd she do then?! Did she swim beneath all their legs? Did she turn around and fight them all? I bet she could still win!"

The Snivy couldn't help but snicker. "You think she could? I ended up following the sound of explosions and carnage while I was looking for her. A huge cloud of steam flew by my head as I found the pit she'd fallen into. By the time I got there, the weaker pokemon were already out cold, and Panne was busy hopping between the heads of the stronger ones so that they would end up hitting each other. She didn't get out unscathed, necessarily, but it was way more than anyone else I know could handle!"

"Wooow..." Larvesta was practically oozing wonder. Come on, he couldn't have been _that_ good at storytelling. "A whole pit? Like, a hundred pokemon? Aaaah, that's so cool! How did she even jump around with so much water everywhere? Was it like- Oooh, oh! What if she let herself get captured by the Serperior? What if she's like a spy or something, taking everything down from the inside?!"

Vallion smiled at her enthusiasm, but couldn't quite disguise the wistfulness that crept onto the edges of his face. "It's certainly possible, but nobody's invincible. There's still a really good chance she's in trouble. That's why I'm going to go fight with the Poliwrath tomorrow. If she isn't knee-deep in some plot to undermine the whole kingdom, then I have to go rescue her. They probably have a stronger cage than the one you were kept in this time around."

"Ooh. Like a knight saving a damsel?" Larvesta asked. It was a startling comparison for a wildling to make, and from a child no less. These Volcarona definitely weren't from around here if their kid knew a story like that.

"...Yeah, a little bit like that," Vallion murmured over his own thoughts. "Even the strongest and most dependable of us need help sometimes. Sometimes people can get unlucky. Most of the time she's the one that ends up saving me, but I think it's my turn to be the knight. Yeah."

A silence fell among them, spreading out into the trees and joining the shadows that surrounded them. He could tell that Larvesta was processing all this from the perplexed look on her face. To be honest, he and Panne weren't all that much older that she was, but they've already been through a lifetime of trouble. The most exciting part of this Larvesta's life so far was probably getting captured by Alexander. Meanwhile, they had died and came back and saved the world, all within the span of a few months.

When Larvesta spoke up again, her voice had grown considerably softer. "Is that what you do in the Society? Travel the world with your best friend and go on adventures like that? Panne is your best friend, right?"

"Well, the point of the Expedition Society is to explore, but I suppose that's the gist of it. And Panne is...maybe more than just my best friend." At first, Vallion only meant it in a spiritual way, but his heart suddenly picked up pace when he realized what it sounded like.

Larvesta didn't seem to care. "But you do missions sometimes, right? Or just stuff in general to help people?"

"Yeah, we technically count as a rescue team, too. There's not many of those on the Water Continent, so we're kinda obligated to pick up a lot of the slack that other continents don't have. Most of the time, though, we make maps and charts, or uncover ancient secrets from civilizations way before this one. One day, you'll be able to see the whole world at a glance, right on a piece of paper. Every last bit of it. And it'll be Panne and the Society who would have made it."

The bug type looked away, first towards the inky darkness beneath the trees, then up to the stars. "I want to do that someday. Er-not make maps of everything. You guys can do that. I wanna go around exploring the places I'm not supposed to. That's what I'm going to do when I become a Volcarona and get my wings. Maybe if I get strong enough, I'll be able to help people, too! Except maybe not some of the scarier things like this."

Vallion let himself fall backwards onto his back and blinked at the sky. "It's not all that easy. You have to be pretty strong just to start exploring. Pretty smart, too. Most people can't even do it."

"It doesn't sound all that hard," she scoffed in an innocent sort of way. "And if it turns out to be, I just need to bring a friend like you did. We can watch each other's backs and do different stuff when we set up camp. We could get away from monsters a lot easier, 'cuz I could just carry them and fly away. We wouldn't even get lonely, either. It's almost like cheating."

For once, a warm feeling started to spread through Vallion's chest. Anyone else would have been positively traumatized by being stolen from their parents and locked away in a cell, but it just served to make Larvesta even more curious. There was something growing there, really about to blossom. "What are you gonna do once you evolve, then? Daydreaming is fun and all, but you need to have a goal in mind-something to work towards so that you aren't wandering aimlessly. That's why the moon follows the sun every night. It has the whole sky to roam, but only one thing to chase."

Larvesta continued to gaze up at the sky in search of such a boundless answer. "I dunno. Maybe I'll go back to Sand Continent, to the place where I was born. It was supposed to be a really dangerous place, so my parents would never let me go anywhere. When I'm older and stronger, that's probably the first place I wanna explore for real. I wanna see everything I wasn't allowed to see."

Another quiet fell over them. The stars were pretty, but he couldn't see any full constellations with all the leaves in the way. All he could do trace the corners of the shapes with his eyes and let his mind wander. Everything that she wasn't allowed to see...he turned that last sentence over in his mind a few times, his tongue twitching as he silently pronounced the words over and over. Life was always moving forward. You can't always go back to experience what you missed in the present. That's why you're always supposed to live without regrets. If you wait too long to do something, you might never be able to do it at all.

Vallion swallowed at a lump in his throat. All of a sudden, he had something gravely important that he had to do tomorrow. This was something that couldn't wait a few more weeks, or even just a few more days. If he could help it, he wouldn't even wait more than a few damn seconds. As soon as he rescued her from Alexander's clutches, and absolutely no later, he was going to tell her how he truly felt.

"Oh!" As was usual, Larvesta was the one who broke the forest's slumbering silence. "We talked about so much, I forgot what I was going to ask you before I brought you the bag!"

The Snivy tilted his head toward her. "And what would that be?"

She sucked in a breath. "Why do you and your partner have names? I've never met anyone who calls themselves something other than who they are."

It wasn't the first time he'd been asked that question, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last, but with all the thoughts that were running through his head at the time, it hit him like a sack of bricks. "Uh. Names are sometimes...they're things people have to show status or achievement. Sometimes people make up names if they want to seem more important than they really are. Sometimes other people can give them to you. Panne made hers up when she was a lot younger. My name is, um. I'm borrowing the name-from someone else who lived a long time ago. I guess you could say mine was given to me."

Larvesta shook her head. "I guess that sort of makes sense? I mean, it kinda doesn't, but-OH!"

"What?! Did you get it?" Vallion nearly jumped an inch into the air from her exclamation.

"No, I was supposed to be right back after giving you the tools! Oh no, my dad's gonna be so mad that I disappeared right after getting back! I-I gotta go!" Larvesta flipped over and bolted down the slope with the kind of quickness that only a kid in trouble with their parents could muster. She darted off into the brush in the vague direction of where the camp was, shouting a vague farewell that echoed off the trees and into the night.

He called out his own goodbye, but wasn't entire sure she ended up hearing him. And just like that, Vallion was alone again. The shuffling leaves eventually settled down back into complete stillness. Now that he was by himself, it was a lot easier to notice the constant, throbbing pain that was always with him. It was a little better, maybe, but still way too much to sleep. Maybe he'd finally open up this bag and see what kind of arsenal he'd be working with tomorrow?...Nah, still too early. He looked up at the moon and tried to figure out how many inches it had moved since he had last checked. The bag wasn't going anywhere. It could wait.

...

* * *

There was a single torch. It was mounted on a far wall, and its fluctuating glow highlighted the jagged cave with a thousand blinking shadows. Its heat was faintly felt in the otherwise cold, stagnant air, but the stones refused to accept even that much warmth and remained freezing to the touch. Whatever little smoke the torch made was carried outside by the slanted ceiling of the tunnel. Opposite of that torch, a grid of reinforced lumber made up the wall of a cell, and the shadow it cast on the rocks behind it made it seem like a complete cage.

Past these solid bars of wood and in amidst the earthy greys and browns was a streak of yellow. A Fennekin laid motionless on the dusty ground, their plush fur matted with filth and coagulated crimson stains. For ever three injuries, she'd been hastily bandaged for one. Medical supplies were going to become extremely valuable by the time it was dawn-they couldn't waste them all on a prisoner.

Sensing the arrival of someone at the mouth of the cave, the Fennekin trembled as she pushed themselves up to a sitting position. When her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw who was waiting for her on the other side of the gate, and took on an expression slow-burning despair and contempt.

"I've brought food," was all the Serperior said as he angled a bowl between the bars and set it on the floor with his vines. Panne shot a baleful glance towards the meal, looked back with the same face, and laboriously crawled over to the bowl. She examined the seeds inside the bowl with intense scrutiny and grunted.

"These are all sleep seeds," she muttered with as much viciousness as she could. "You're trying to poison me, and you walk in and call it a meal."

"Poison, no. I'm trying to sedate you. I can't have you making trouble with such an important battle coming up, so this is to ensure your cooperation," the Serperior sternly put. At this point, whatever good was left in him had surely died if he could deliver such a sentence with such incredible ease.

Panne spit into the dust and knocked the ceramic bowl away. "Does this look like cooperation to you? What, are you scared I'm gonna topple your whole empire overnight? It's no wonder why the Larvesta was so adverse to your 'hospitality'. If you wanted to weaken my so badly, why not just let me starve? Or maybe you should come in here and break my other leg for good measure?"

"I'm not going to do anything like that. I'm not trying to hurt you! I've been cutting it so close with managing my forces, the last thing I need is a member of the Expedition Society calling for help or burning through my resources." The grass type sighed. "To be honest, I'm a little insulted you think I would treat a child this way."

"You held her hostage! You're a goddamn liar and an outlaw! If the rest of the Society were here, they'd break you on just that fact alone!" For as much as Panne shouted, there wasn't much conviction left in her voice. The pain and misery had sapped the will from her breath, making every insult she hurled sound like an empty blow.

The Serperior knew to not try and argue with her. Even in a situation like this, she was still as stubborn as an oak tree. "You really should consider eating something to keep your energy up. Those wounds won't heal any faster if you keep on starving yourself."

"I'm not going to eat anything you give me," she defiantly assured him. "Even if I gotta spend a week in here without eating anything, Val's gonna come break me out! He'll bring the rest of the Society and arrest you and put you in the ground! With everything you've done here, you're plenty criminal enough to stop!"

"Perhaps I am," the grass type surrendered. "Perhaps I really have gone too far. I can't take back what I've done to get this far, but I'm so close now. If I were to just give up now, all of this suffering would have been for nothing! I can't let all our work go to waste when a revolutionary new world is at our fingertips! Maybe I will become a villain by the end of this, but I accept that. That's a sacrifice I've always been willing to make."

Panne would have killed them with her glare if she could. "There is nothing you could do to make all this worth it. You nearly killed us, and yet you have the audacity to try and justify that to my face? I thought I made it clear how stupid stupid you are to try and sell me your crappy ideas. You're the reason people have been getting hurt. You're the reason people are going to get hurt. You tried to kill Val!"

They stared at their prisoner with a grave frown. "I was trying to disable Vallion and nothing more. If anything, he's one of the last pokemon in the world I would ever think of killing."

"Liar!" The Fennekin screamed. "God, what's wrong with you? Are you even listening to yourself? How are you supposed to make the world a better place when you're basically just starting a war! I don't care what your dreams and aspirations have to say. Everything would be so much easier if you just...just go away! Please, can you at least consider that for one second? It'll save lives!"

He had nothing more to say to her. The Serperior turned away from the bars and held an exasperated breath deep within his lungs. As he started to slither away, he found one thing on the tip of his tongue. "If making a map of the world was something as violently polarizing as my dream is, what would you do? I know what you'd say your answer is, but do you truly know for sure?"

Past the torch, into the darkness, and out of sight. Panne kept on glaring until she could only hear the endless hum of the cavern, then settled back down with a huff. In the resulting solitude, she would resume her silent sobs as a fresh flood of tears began to well up behind her eyelids.


	6. Malice Notched

The army had no rows, no ranks, and only the slightest signs of organization. A constant cacophony of excited noise filled up the atmosphere as dawn came closer and closer. With the moon gone from the sky, an abyssal black had completely taken up the spaces between the fading stars, waiting patiently for the earliest tinges of sunlight to peek over the horizon. Many of the fire types and luminescent pokemon were forced to lead the whole force through the darkness. They stomped through the forest like an angry mob, but there was a very real tension in the air. There was going to be death today.

Vallion marched along with the second militia of pokemon somewhere vaguely southeast of the actual mystery dungeon. After some deliberation, the Poliwrath chose to launch a dual-pronged attack on Alexander's territory, leading half of their forces each to the upper and lower eastern fronts. They were to eliminate all opposition on the way to the river itself, where they were to meet back up in the middle and sweep the area. That way, if only one group was attacked, the other group would eventually arrive at the opposition's flank.

The Snivy felt his wounds and fractures with every step, he felt disgusting and tired from having sat out in the cold with no sleep, and he was absolutely soaked with anxiety, but he was still moving. His legs would carry on whether there was a head on his shoulders or not, because that's all he could do. There was no telling how far his will alone was going to carry him once the fighting started, but there wasn't any use in thinking about it. His fate had already been written the moment he left Panne behind.

Entire bushes fell to the steadfast stomps of nearly a hundred disgruntled soldiers, and those were just the ones on the ground. The firelight shone past the canopy and gave brief glimpses of the low-flying pokemon above, as well as the ones that swung from branch to branch. There was a raw defiance in the air that magnetized all these pokemon together, and Vallion wasn't a part of it. He felt like an onlooker at best. This wasn't his battle, but he was going to fight in it regardless.

The tools the Poliwrath had given him grew heavier by the moment. He definitely had the firepower to push through, there was more than enough blast seeds to tear open a hole in a mountain. The only tool he had to circumvent direct attackers was a single whirlwind wand, which had a questionable amount of uses left inside of it to begin with. If all else failed, he only had one reviver seed to work with, as well. The Poliwrath expected him to be artillery, and they were holding him to that promise. It was better than nothing.

A sudden hush rushed over the masses like a rogue wave. The chattering quickly fell to whispers, giving way to the sounds of trampled woodlands and scattered footsteps. An order was repeated down the crowd, "We draw near. Become silent." He heard the turning of wings overhead, and especially that of the Volcarona who lead the charge from the air. Were they really already there? There was still barely any color to the sky. For all the mental preparation Vallion had gone through, he didn't feel prepared at all.

Still, the only thing worse than the battle starting too soon was having to wait any longer for it. Vallion started to pick up the pace, overtaking those in front of him and hurrying to the front of the pack. He darted between legs and swerved around groups, lost in a sea of impatient grumbling and faint light. The crowd began to thin out once he made it up to the Poliwrath, who lead his forces to battle with a commanding swagger as he pushed through the brush. The Snivy slipped into the cover of darkness and took on ahead. If anyone saw and assumed he was defecting, they certainly didn't say anything.

With the light of the militia behind him, Vallion had to feel around in the dark for himself. He started to breathe heavier as the miserable feeling in his eyelids melted away in the wake of anticipation. He could practically feel the cool morning air electrify with tension. The sky started to brighten up overhead-not enough to see by, but he could have traced the black lines of individual leaves against the deep blue. It was like a countdown clock was ticking away at its last few minutes. One by one, the the seconds fell away. Shade by shade, the cloudy skies grew more vibrant. The Snivy marched on, but his hand was always closed around a blast seed from the back. He thought of the warm smile that was waiting for him at the end of this trek. The gentle twitch of her ears, pointed forward so attentively towards him.

He was never going to lose her again.

Suddenly, the world crashed into place around him. There was a flash of motion in the distance, accompanied by the faintest rattle of leaves. Vallion froze in place. He strained his eyes against the morning light to scan his surroundings. When nothing came of the noise, he put the blast seed up to his lips and edged forward, never letting his guard down for even a moment. He couldn't have been hallucinating, right? It would've taken more than some stress and one less night of sleep to get to that point. There had to be something here.

As Vallion turned around, he realized it was already too late. A pair of blood-red eyes glared at him from beyond the brush, so intensely reflective that even the sullen light was enough for them to glow. The Snivy would have shuddered, but his veins had already frozen over. He was stuck, prey caught in the gaze of their predator. Alexander had no trouble rising from the shadows and began to slither towards him.

In an instant, Vallion popped the blast seed into his mouth and locked it firmly between his back teeth. The slightest compression would break the shell and send the Serperior flying. "Stay where you are! Don't move an inch closer!" he commanded, his words mangled by the foreign object in his mouth. Alexander obeyed the order and stopped. They locked eyes for what seemed like forever.

"Panne insisted you would come," the Serperior finally spoke up, his voice as piercing as his gaze. "She said that almost as much as she condemned my choices. Those two things are all she's done, in fact. She won't eat. She won't sleep. She refuses to even tend to her own injuries. I've never seen anyone as stubborn as her, and I've seen a lot."

"She wants to go home, and so do I." Vallion reached over and took the whirlwind wand out of its bag. He held onto it so tightly that he was almost certain it was going to snap in his grip. "This stupid territorial garbage isn't worth our time or our lives. I'm going to take her back, We're going to leave, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Alexander didn't even blink at the wand that was held threateningly towards him. "Panne was adamant about stopping me despite the fact that she's been behind bars this whole time. Now you're here, in what seems like a perfect position to stop me, and all you want is to free her." A brief chuckle escaped his throat. "It's funny. I can almost visualize how your battle with Dark Matter went just from that."

"I'll kill you," the Snivy growled, his arms trembling with adrenaline. "I don't care if you're a human. I don't care if you're the goddamn savior of humankind. I don't care about the pointless war you're about to wage, or the lives that'll be wasted because of it. I want Panne back. That's it."

The Serperior shook his head. "If there was any way I could set this right afterward all this, I will gladly-"

Vallion clicked the blast seed between his teeth. "This isn't a fucking game, Alex! Nobody's listening to your apologies! However good of a man you were before this, and however much you regret the path you've taken-those doesn't matter anymore. It's too late to feel sorry. You can't fix what you've done in the name of the idiotic civilization you're trying to force into existence."

"I know that..." Alexander responded wistfully and stared off into the distance. In the lack of light, Vallion could finally see the green emera in his brace start to glow. It really was Clairvoyance, wasn't it? The Serperior's eyes traveled behind him and into the distance. There was just enough of the dawn to see the exasperation on his face.

"...If you came just to save your partner, then go," the Serperior began. "I'm here to fight, but not you."

He didn't budge. "What do you mean? You're just going to let me walk away, even after what happened with the Larvesta? Why should I trust you?"

"Because the damage's already been done. What use do I have in keeping Panne in a cell?" Alex turned his whole body westwards, towards where the forces were marching. "This doesn't involve the two of you. Go fetch her and get out of my forest. I don't want to cause either of you any more pain than I already have. If you stay here, I can't guarantee your safety at all. There's a hill northwest of the river in the middle of the mystery dungeon. She's hidden at the top, down in a cave behind some boulders. There are no guards."

The blast seed in Vallion's teeth fell harmlessly into the pocket of his cheek. He lowered the wand to his side, but electricity still coursed through his muscles. Was he worried for him, or was it like the repayment of a favor?

"I don't think you understand how many there are out there," the Snivy insisted. "You're strong, but you can't take them on. Especially not with the Volcarona there. I don't care how big of a city you built in the Mist Continent, you're just going to get executed."

Just then, something flew from a nearby tree and exploded between into a cloud of glittering yellow particles. Vallion immediately caught of a whiff of paralyzing spores and lunged away before he inhaled too much. Alexander just sighed as if the attack was more of a chore than anything. He tore out his clairvoyance emera with a flick of his vine, then replaced it with a different one in the same motion. With the fourth piece of his crowning necklace changed, the Serperior took in a deep breath of the noxious dust and stood taller than ever. Status Immunity.

"Don't you believe his lies, Snivy!" the familiar guttural shout of Poliwrath rang from somewhere nearby. Rustling filled the surrounding woods from all directions, but it was too dark to see anything beyond the countless blurs of motion. The roaring sound of a hundred wings filled them air. The cavalry had arrived. "His only strength is the ability to fool others! Know that his words are empty and weak!"

Alexander's eyes narrowed at the vague darkness, a glare of contempt stuck firmly on his face. His eyes bounced back and forth as if he was trying to memorize his foe's positions. "This is my final warning!" the Serperior shouted as loud as he could. "Return to your homes and stop this pointless charade! I have taken nothing from you!"

A scoff emerged from the brush before the Poliwrath did. "But you have taken our dignity, pretender! And you would take so much more if we gave you the opportunity! Isn't that what you want? Convince us to give an inch so that one day you might steal a mile?" The Poliwrath raised his fist high up above his head. "If you're so determined to lead like a king, then you might as well die a martyr!"

A flash of orange ignited the sky as if the sun had suddenly transported directly over their heads. Vallion barely had time to duck out of the way before a tsunami of stinging heat washed over him. The single breath he gasped burned the back of his throat seared the insides of his lungs. He coughed, his eyelids shut tight against the vortex of heat that whipped at them. The attack only lasted for a moment, but when it was finally over, the cool air collapsed back into the place where the heat had once been. The Volcarona must have grown tired of politics.

In the midst of the smoke and cinders, Alexander slithered back over the singed section of ground where he had originally been standing. He was entirely unscathed.

"So be it, then. My apologies," Alexander muttered as a vine crept from his shoulder. Instead of flattening into a blade, the vine lowered into one of his vestigial hands tucked away behind his back. He lifted something tiny from his grasp and pressed the object to his chest. There was a faint click, almost impossible to hear with the anxious pokemon that surrounded them. At that very second, Vallion knew why Alex had left his emera brace incomplete for so long.

A white flash blew away the darkness for a split second. The Serperior began to glow, a prismatic energy traveling from his neck all the way down to the tip of his tail. He took a deep breath of his colorful aura and opened his crimson eyes to the opposition around him, his vicious glare seemingly everywhere at once. Vallion recognized the effect immediately, but still didn't quite believe it. This dungeon was way too mild for an emera so powerful to appear-and yet, there it was, right in front of him. The Awakening emera had taken effect. At this very second, Alex must have been the most powerful creature on this side of the mountains.

The trees exploded with motion and sound. Pokemon poured from every thicket and branch, diving down from the sky or charging from below, all screaming to tear the Serperior asunder. The combined roar echoed through the valley like rolling thunder. The new king of Poliwrath River didn't flinch. Swathed in iridescent light, his vines went rigid and flattened.

A flood of bodies crashed into Alexander from every possible angle. His swords around him like a razor blade, somehow keeping a thousand pounds of tendon and muscle at bay. His serpentine body smoldered as he slipped past every claw and fang that came at him. It was like oil in water, untouchable. Yet for every snarling jaw he slashed away, two more inevitably took its place. There were even more attacks that came at range, the barrage of projectiles seemingly never ending. If Alex was getting hit at all, it was extremely difficult to see what.

Another sun's worth of orange light poured down through the leaves. Vallion shielded his face as the burning torrent flared across his body like raking knives. This time, he held his breath until the heat subsided, and then greedily gulped down the burnt-smelling air. Somehow, despite the Volcarona's overwhelming power, Alexander stood among the embers, barely scorched while the earth around him was blackened. It was as if the emera had granted him complete invulnerability. His vine softened into its natural state once more and curled up at the end, where a green energy began to accumulate. Seconds later, he lobbed the verdant sphere straight through the canopy, and the resounding shockwave that came rolling over them afterwards sounded very much like a direct hit.

All of the Poliwrath's forces that hadn't been caught in the inferno spilled out of the trees, prepared to take a chunk out of the Serperior's neck. At first, it seemed like the battle would begin in the same way it did before, but many of the pokemon clashed into others without even glancing at Alexander. Unhindered by any melee combatants, Alexander continued to fire off artillery shots at aerial foes, hitting far more than he missed . Those who defended him wore a crude crimson emblem on their fronts-a red circle painted over feather, fur, and scale. A strategy to differentiate friend from foe in the midst of absolute chaos. Alexander's soldiers had arrived, and they were frothing with malice.

All of a sudden, Vallion finally realized he was standing in the middle of a battlefield, and he definitely didn't plainly belong to either side. He tried to flee, scrambling away from the main conflict as quickly as he could, but in the moment he was an easy target. A jagged claw slashed down his back as he tried to duck beneath a fallen log. The Snivy lost his balance from the impact and flew forward on his own desperate momentum, sliding through the dirt and roots. The world stopped spinning for just long enough to see a snarling Persian behind him, whose chest bore that same red circle as the others. The creature knelt down to pounce.

Vallion pushed the blast seed inside his cheek back into his back teeth and bit down with all the strength he could muster. His mouth flew open forcefully, and the resulting explosion engulfed his vision and jerked his head backwards in recoil. He blinked the blinding impression of the light from his eyes and saw the pokemon in the midst of its swift retreat into the brush. The smell of burnt fur carried over on the breeze.

He had to get out of here. Everywhere he turned, someone was going after someone else's throat. The entire forest was filled with bloody mayhem, all the while massive waves of fire torched through swathes of trees at a time. Vallion had spent all night building himself up for this moment, yet all of the courage he gathered was scattered with the wind. He snapped up another blast seed and popped it into his mouth. He chose a direction and translated that horror into speed, dodging around skirmishes as terrible sounds filled the air. Last breaths and war-cries, sickening cracks and solid slams, and agony-filled shrieks of pain. It was far worse than anything he had imagined.

Another one of Alexander's army mistook the Snivy for a threat and blocked his path. A Sawk embellished with a red circle took a wide stance in front of him. Too big to go around, he'd get caught for sure. Vallion didn't hesitate to reach for his whirlwind wand, but was too slow on the draw. The Sawk came at him with murderous intent in its eyes. With no other choice, he chomped down on the blast seed and blew the pokemon away, then scurried off while gasping for a smokeless breath.

The explosions attracted too much attention. An orange light shined relentlessly through branches above him. Vallion whipped around towards the sky and nearly froze as the Volcarona hovered above, the very air surrounding them bursting into flames. The fireball came down. Vallion didn't think. He held the whirlwind wand to the dawn and swung with all his might and mass. The twig in his hands released such a powerful gale that its howling completely deafened the roar of the flames. The whirlwind whipped at everything in its wake, crashing through the canopy and colliding with the burning maelstrom. The flames spilled outward and erupted into an unstable shower of embers. Every crack in the leaves was filled with a blinding brilliance for but a moment, then disappeared in a fizzling wake of glowing ash.

He ran off during the dazzling fireworks before anyone else could take notice of him. The bushes he dove through raked his scales with thorns, tearing at his bandages and stinging at the tender skin of existing wounds, but it hardly slowed him down. Nothing short of a brick wall could stop him now. Northwest of the river, middle of the dungeon. There was a hill. The Snivy broke through the brambles and took off through a sea of vines, all the while whispering Alexander's directions to himself. Northwest, middle, hill. No matter what, don't forget where she is. Don't stop running and don't forget.

The sounds of war had finally begun to fade behind him, but that was not the end. The quiet alerted him to the rapid footsteps of a pursuer, crashing through the same foliage as he did. Vallion turned his head for just a moment and was immediately met with a wall of force that crashed into him like a cannonball. Next thing he knew, his back was pressed into the ground, and his chest was being crushed by a massive four-clawed paw. He opened his eyes to a full row of frothy fangs inches away. The creature's breath already smelled of blood and gore.

"I knew you were a traitor from the beginning!" The Mightyena growled, hot and putrid air washing over the Snivy's face. Its unsheathed claws dug deeper into his flesh as his fractured ribs screamed in utter agony. He would have cried out if there was anything left in his lungs in the first place. "You reeked of weakness then, you reek of weakness now. The weak run in fear of power! The weak cannot serve the strong! It would be a favor to end your pitiful existence!"

The Mightyena pivoted its claws, tearing up Vallion's chest even worse as it pressed him deeper into the earth. With death staring him in the eyes, he struggled to go over his options. He forgot to put a new blast seed into his mouth. The whirlwind wand was still in his hand, but he had a loose grip on it, and his range of motion was extremely limited. Not that he had much of a choice. The wildling growled at him one last time, mockingly putting its jaws against his throat as it prepared to deal the killing blow. He felt canines start to dig into his jugular and realized how dead he truly was.

The Snivy desperately twisted his wrist. Pain surged up his arm at the straining motion, but it was just enough for the wand to sputter out a pathetic gust. There was enough force to at least push the Mightyena a few inches away. Vallion sucked in a gasp and jumped to his feet. It was hardly graceful, and it hurt like absolute hell, but Vallion managed to spin his entire body into one last swing of the wand. The wildling could barely a whine in surprise before the blast of air collided with the emblem on its chest. It spiraled away like a ragdoll, eventually knocking the back of its head against the trunk of a cedar tree. The Mightyena went limp, the tree did not. A small flurry of leaves fell to the ground.

Once Vallion was finished shuddering at the hollow sound the creature made, he took off at a significantly slower pace than before. Again, he was sticky with blood and dirt, somehow still moving despite all the abuse his body had taken. It should have been a straight shot from here, though. The fighting was behind him, and if he was still being stalked, the predator would have had plenty of opportunities to kill him by now. He just had to make it to Panne and this whole thing would finally be over. Northwest, middle, hill. Panting for breath, his lips still made the motion of those three words.

The sky had steadily began to turn a much more pleasant shade of blue. On one horizon, the warm glow of the sun started to poke its head out from behind the mountains. It was going to be a beautiful sunrise today. In the wonderful silence, Vallion hacked up blood as he moved, his trembling hands still dearly clutching at the worthless twig that had run completely dry of power. At some point, he dropped the empty wand somewhere and forgot to unclench his fist. It really didn't matter. It felt like he was stuck in some sort of horrible, perpetuating nightmare, knowing that his eyes were closed but unable to shake himself awake.

Above the constant din of his own panting, he listened for the hopeful sound of running water. There was no way he could keep moving in a straight line and not encounter it at some point. The river divided this entire dungeon in two. It was the only consistent thing about this place, and it was the only way he could find Panne amidst the shifting forest. He needed to see her again. As long as he saw that smile, he would know everything was going to be alright. Nothing else even mattered. Not the Poliwrath he had promised to fight beside, not the crimes that Alexander had committed, and not the duties that fell on his shoulders. Vallion was a coward, alright. The Mightyena was right. He was weak, and greedy, and selfish, and the only thing he cared about was Panne. He wasn't a goddamn hero at all, and he really didn't want to be one in the first place. Who the hell cares about Dark Matter?

Vallion just limped along, occasionally glancing up at the rising sun and groaning. Sticks snapped beneath his feet, leaves gently swayed in unison, and a breeze whistled through the trees, but there was still no running water. Everything heroic had left his body a long time ago, probably in the streaks of blood that kept leaking out of his broken skin. All he had to do was not disappoint the one person who mattered in all of this. Just the one.


	7. The End of All Things

Suffering was a distraction. It stretched out time until every minute ebbed by like a stone eroded by the ocean. Vallion could count the seconds, but it was hard to believe that things were really moving as fast as his lips. Even when he finally did hear the lapping sound of water in the distance, the hypnotic trance of throbbing pain didn't fully let him free. He trudged towards the noise without so much as a thought, pressing through the dew-covered ferns on auto-pilot. An eerie morning mist accumulated on the surface of the white water, gently floating by as the orange morning sun peered across the tops of the trees. The air was cool and humid, so much so that he could nearly feel the cold droplets of the fog against his scales as he meandered onto the shore.

Vallion took a single step into the shallow of the river and dunked his entire head beneath the calm waves. The cold rush jolted him awake as gulp after gulp of icy water went down his throat. He threw his head back and coughed for what seemed like a full minute, but for the first time since the battle, he felt alive again. From that point, his brain turned back on. He was at the river. Judging from the direction of the current, he'd have to head upstream if he wanted to find Panne. There was a hill somewhere in that direction, and she would be waiting in a cave at its top. It wasn't much to work with, but it's better than nothing.

Shaking like a leaf, the Snivy climbed out of the water and onto the shore, pebbles crunching beneath his feet. There wasn't any time to waste. Even if he did have a general idea of where Panne was being held, there was still an entire mystery dungeon to search through. Vallion stared down at the ground as he limped along the water's edge, as if it would take too much of his precious energy to look around. There wasn't anything to see, anyway. All of the beautiful sights this autumn morning would have had were already ruined, if not from his own situation then from the massacre that had occurred not even an hour away. There were a lot of pokemon who missed the sunrise today. It didn't bother him too much, to be perfectly honest, but the effect was still there.

While passing through the forest, Vallion found a lot of the projects Alexander's underlings had left behind. Piles of timber, half-built foundations, and mounds of dark, fresh soil from landscaping. All these signs of life, and not a single soul to be seen. Was absolutely everyone involved with the fighting or something? Even on quiet days, there should have at least been a handful of pokemon running around. The river was the artery of the entire forest, pretty much everyone that lived here would have to stop by at some point. The fact that it was entirely abandoned now gave him the creepiest feeling in the world. There really was nobody left.

"Vallion."

The Snivy swung around so fast that it felt like his joints had nearly popped out of their sockets. He scanned the treeline for the disembodied voice, and eventually got caught on the same blood-red pair of eyes that always seemed to be watching him. For once, Vallion actually relaxed upon seeing the Serperior.

Alexander slithered down from the branches and began to approach him. His injuries were immediately apparent in the crooked way he moved. For as invincible as the Serperior seemed back then, his mortality showed in the wounds that covered his body. There were blackened, burned scales found from the top of his head all the way down to the signed tips of his tail. Gashes were opened up all around his chest, caked with a mixture of coagulated blood and dried mud. There was no telling the internal damage he had sustained over the course of the battle. It was kinda funny, actually, how similarly he and Vallion had ended up.

"What are you doing here?" Vallion called out, not yet taking a hand off his bag of seeds. "Is the battle over already?"

The Serperior gave him a joyless smirk. "Isn't it obvious? We won. What's left of their resistance were either pushed back out of my land, killed, or captured. I sent the rest of my forces north to aid with Reinhardt's battle. I knew about the pincer attack long before they had a chance to act upon it. I shouldn't be having nearly as much trouble with dissidents after today."

Vallion wasn't sure whether to feel glad or disheartened. To be fair, no matter who conquered Poliwrath River today, he wouldn't have really cared. "Well why'd you come to find me instead of helping your partner, then? It's not like I'm going to do anything."

"Because we haven't finished our conversation from yesterday," the Serperior said, turning away and slowly slithering in the same direction Vallion was originally walking. "Come. I can show you exactly where Panne is. It's still a good distance from here, so we have time to chat."

After a moment of hesitation, Vallion decided to follow along. It's not like it was going to change anything. No matter what Alexander had to say, there was only one way this expedition was going to end. He shot a glance towards the white waters and watched fallen leaves be carried further and further upstream until they disappeared into the mist. Once this place finally switched seasons and became autumn, a million more leaves would join these ones and be washed away on the current. It didn't matter what kind of tree they came from, or where in the forest they started. They'd all end up the same, anyway.

"Tell me something, Vallion," Alexander began. "If the Expedition Society is about cartography and exploration, why does it still need to take rescue missions? What's the point in having to rescue people when it isn't even your job?"

The Snivy replied without a hint of emotion. "We're adventurers, so we're strong enough to protect people and prevent disasters. We know geography, so it's easier for us to work our way around. We need funding, and one of the best sources of income is helping others. It's the right thing to do. You helped colonize a wasteland, you should know why rescue teams form."

Alexander grunted in agreement. "Yes, of course. I've been rescuing other pokemon for as long as I've been in this world. That's exactly what the problem is. The danger seemingly never ends. There's always someone in need of help, their lives hanging in the balance of one evil or another. Bandits, wildlings, turns of weather, horrific injuries-the list goes on. This world is a dangerous place, Vallion."

It was difficult for the Snivy to process the discussion, mostly due to the lack of sleep. "So? What, did you intend on ending all despair or something? I fought Dark Matter, I already know that's never something that can happen. So long as the world's still spinning, there will be evil and there will be death. It's just a part of life. You either accept this fate onto yourself, or you perpetuate the very reason Dark Matter existed at all."

"That's what I used to think," Alexander muttered, shaking his head. "After I defeated the Bittercold, I thought everything was supposed to get better. While it did bring back hope, it did nothing to end suffering. The future was something we were supposed to build ourselves. Hope by itself is worthless. You can hope all you like to be rescued from the situation you're in, but it doesn't bring you help any sooner. Reinhardt built Paradise with the hope that it would become a place where pokemon could live together in harmony, but just because a city stands for peace doesn't mean people will bring their peace into it."

Vallion blinked at the shore that stretched before them, a dizziness nearly overcoming him. "Can you get to the point? I'm barely awake right now. What's all this have to do with being the king of this stupid river? Why'd you have to kidnap a child just to prove your point?"

The Serperior paused to breathe in the morning fog. This seemed like a conversation he's had plenty of times before, and it surely wouldn't be the last time. "Think of how a mystery dungeon works. The places you visited yesterday may be on the other side of the valley today. It's constantly changing, but there's nothing new about it nonetheless. There are two ways to stop this phenomenon from happening. The first is to take advantage of size and motion. This river runs much farther than just this dungeon and is constantly flowing from one end to the other. Because of these things, the magic that rearranges this place has no effect, essentially making it a constant in this land of variables. The same thing applies to mountainous mystery dungeons, where the sheer size of the place keeps it relatively the same shape day after day.

"The second way to stop a mystery dungeon is to build on top of it. That's why you find so many ancient ruins teeming with this mysterious energy. Civilizations in the past knew this, but when their societies collapsed and their homes were abandoned, there was nothing stopping the magic from reclaiming the land. It's not the structure itself that brings stability, but the perception of the pokemon that built it. They _believe_ that what they've created is stable-that it won't suddenly get up and move to the other side of the world. The more they mind its presence, the less it can move."

Vallion squinted as the sun finally rose up over the trees and shined right into his eyes. "So you're just trying to build something here to stop the dungeon from working, or what? Why'd you have to turn the entire social structure of Poliwrath River on its head to do that? What does it even accomplish?"

"It brings order," Alexander announced like a judge delivering his final word. "I noticed it with Paradise first. Despite the differences between all the pokemon that lived there, there was always an inclination to come together. Civilized or wild, large or small, strong or weak. It didn't matter who you were if you were a part of the growing new world. Sure enough, it became easier and easier to survive in that place, when not twenty years earlier you'd die of starvation and be eaten by the scavengers that came to pick your bones clean. Pokemon are stronger when they are together, and with togetherness you must establish order. That's what separates us from the scavengers that live by their nature. I didn't come here to sow chaos or destroy lives. I came here to make a new Paradise, and by turning a mystery dungeon full of feral pokemon into a living, breathing city, I will show the world just how powerful and benevolent that order is."

A silence fell between the two of them. The sounds of burbling waters and crunching pebbles filled the space. Vallion found himself chuckling in the quiet. "You're kind of ridiculous, you know that? It's just that you're trying so hard to make this perfect civilization, but you're still leading around a bunch of thugs and wildlings. Doesn't matter if they're building bridges or not, they'll still tear out each other's throats at the drop of a pin just because you told them to. They're the same as ever, even if you do somehow managed to clog up this mystery dungeon with buildings, and by this point you're not much better than they are. Your leadership isn't going to change that."

Alexander hummed. "I think it will, though. Take a look around you. Until recently, the pokemon that originally lived here hadn't laid a finger on either you or Panne. Perhaps they were unfriendly, sure, but I'd already worked them past the point of outright hostility. As for the bloodshed, I...don't condone it, but I don't feel as though I had any other choice. In order to teach these pokemon a new language, I must first use one they already know how to speak. I had to be violent. I had to make shows of my power, and bring my hand down on anyone that tried to contest it. I was unsure before, but now I'm convinced that it's the only way."

It was stupid. Vallion was hardly trying to be a hero, that much he'd already established with himself, but this was just too much. "It's almost kinda sad. You obviously have the best intentions, I think, but the way you've ended up going about this just caused more suffering than you intended to stop. What are you going to do when you build your new city and people start to question your leadership again? Are you just going to kill them like you killed all those wildlings today? Come on. At this point, you've already lost. What you're trying to do is impossible."

Alexander stopped moving. He turned his head just enough to stare the Snivy in the eyes, a deep frown on his face. "Vallion, I am not just another Serperior. I am a human. The duty of humans in the pokemon world is to do the impossible. When all else has failed, and all hope is lost, who is it that carries the weight of the world on their shoulders? Who is it that stands against the indefatigable might of the calamities that would end life as we know it? Who is it that can change the threads of fate with their bare hands? We're not normal people, Vallion. Everything we do, every tiny decision we make, has huge ripples that could affect the lives of everyone on the planet. Destiny favors us, and I intend to take full advantage of that."

"You sound like a nutcase, you know," Vallion interjected, then started moving past the Serperior. "Human or not, you live in this world now. You abide by its ethics and rules. Not too long ago, there was a missing child in this forest. They were being held captive by an outlaw, and a rescue team had to come by and nab the kid and bring it back to its parents. That's what happened yesterday as far as anyone's concerned. That's just the way everyone's going to see it. Your future of peace and lollipops ain't gonna come true if you try to force it into existence, no matter how human we are."

When Vallion glanced behind him, Alexander was wearing a look of pure dejection. For once, he felt as though he could see through those piercing red eyes, or perhaps that his own gaze somehow had more authority than theirs. It made the Serperior seem way more mortal, somehow. Maybe a little more human.

"It's inexcusable," Alexander began, gradually catching up with the Snivy. "I know. I already know. But Reinhardt put his faith in me! I've come this far already, and he followed me the whole way, just like I followed him as we built Paradise from the ground up! I can't just give up! There are pokemon who gave their lives in my name! If I stopped now, then what would be the point of those sacrifices? There are people under me that have never before answered to _anyone_! I'm so close to cracking the code, I know I am! I just need a little more time."

For some reason, Vallion's chest hurt. He clutched at the base of his neck, staring at the ground beneath his feet. Maybe he was just easily manipulated, but after hearing everything Alexander had to say, the only thing Vallion felt was selfishness. It didn't inspire him so much as it reminded him just how shallow his desires really were. For all the people he's helped, and all the good things he's done, there was nothing more important than Panne. If he had to cheat and lie and kill in order to remain loyal to her, then he would do just that. There was no argument. He knew the difference between right and wrong, but knowing where that line was didn't have to affect how he could and couldn't act. Maybe Alex was the same way.

The raging storm that swirled inside the Snivy's thoughts was interrupted by the first real sign of life since the dawn. Shrill cries of fear rang out through the trees, followed by the sound of a flying type frantically flapping their wings. The shouts only grew more distraught as they drew closer. A Starly shot out of the forest at dangerous speeds, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Your majesty! Your majesty!" It shrieked as soon as it saw Alexander. It barreled across the sky, eventually crashing in front of the Serperior with a frightening thud in comparison to its size. Vallion was worried the poor thing was knocked out cold from the impact, but it sprang up quicker than a Spoink and immediately resumed its shouting. "You...your majesty! The northern...the north...Reinhardt's side lost!"

He had never seen the Serperior's face contort so quickly. "WHAT!? Tell me where, now! Did Reinhardt make it out alright? How did the Poliwrath get past our choke point?"

The Starly shuddered, its beak moving before it had the breath necessary to speak. "More came..! Two Volcarona...too much fire!"

"Vallion, come!" Alexander commanded before he slithered straight up the river bank.

"What?! I'm not a part of your stupid conflict! Leave me out of it!"

Alex turned one eye towards him. "Panne's near the northern ridge. If Reinhardt's fallen back, she might be in danger."

"Oh." Without any further hesitation, Vallion took off after the Serperior. They crashed through the forest like a tidal wave and disappeared into a sea of leaves and thorns. He could hardly believe he was moving so fast after everything his body had been through, but even then he was barely trailing behind Alexander, who swerved through the trees like an unstoppable arrow. The pain had started up again. It felt like his side was exploding with every step, and he must have taken three for every second that passed. It'd be a lie to say that he'd gotten used to the hurt, but he definitely wasn't about to let it stop him now.

The early morning sunlight flashed across his face like a strobe light. Alexander swung down the branches of a steep decline, Vallion just slid down the side and hopped from trunk to trunk until the ground evened out. He tripped more than once, but tumbling over obstacles was just another way of moving forward at this point. He blasted through the water of a small creek and barely even touched the water. He clipped his shoulder on a sapling and could hardly feel the bruise over his lacerations and broken bones. He couldn't think anymore, he was a wild beast. Red fire burned through his veins instead of blood. He was dying from the effort, that much was definitely apparent, but he didn't have the strength left to care. There was somewhere he needed to be, right now. Someone he needed to see with his own eyes instead of just with his memories.

They came across three pokemon. A Beedrill who had already perished; a Nidorino who bled all over the red circle on its chest; and a Staravia who tried to dive Alexander's neck with its talons. The Serperior dodged out of the way with easy, but wasn't prepared to retaliate against the flying type, who flew off into the distance with a screech. Alex sneered and spit in its general direction. "They know I'm coming. Now they know where I'm going, too. Hurry, it's not much farther now."

Vallion didn't have the air in his lungs to respond. He just kept running, the wind roaring past his ears as he pushed on. The landscape quickly became overwhelmingly vertical as they charged forward. Alexander had no trouble gliding up the slope, clutching the bases of trees with his vines and pulling himself along. Vallion, on the other hand, only had his tiny arms to grasp the roots of sideways bushes as he scrambled up the cliff. He kicked his feet at a pile of loose topsoil, falling even farther behind the Serperior in the following moments. For every meter of distance he earned, there was another dozen waiting for him when he looked up. Panne was at the top! Come on, hurry up! The Snivy choked, vomited up some stomach bile. then continued on as if nothing happened.

About a quarter of the way up, the dirt became more compact, and there were more stones to give the ground some badly-needed foundation. Everything either burned like fire, went disturbingly numb, or somehow did both, but there wasn't much use in worrying about it. When things got a little flatter, he continued to move at the same speed. He started to see things out the corners of his eye-skirmishes. The battle was happening all around him, from the bottom of the hill and all the way to the top. The shadow of two fighting birds passed over him, and he watched as one of the shadows eventually plummeted out of the sky and crashed down somewhere behind him. He lost sight of Alexander at some point, but he didn't need them anymore.

The sun seemed twice as bright at the top. Vallion had to shield his eyes just to look around, glaring into every rocky outcrop and bush that he came across. There was supposed to be a hole somewhere around here, some kind of cave entrance or something. What did Alex say it was hidden around? Did he even say something like that? The hazy nightmare went on until the Snivy eventually caught a glimpse of an opening into darkness from behind a blanket of ferns. Gasping for air, he pushed through without a second thought, and found himself in the immediate company of four wounded pokemon. Each had the same crimson circle on their chests, barely visible in the shadows. They looked up in fear for a moment, saw the ragged Snivy plunge past them, then turned back to the dust and grime, seemingly uninterested.

Farther back into the cave, the silhouettes of Reinhardt and Alexander imposed themselves in front of a small torch. They spoke in hushed, urgent tones, but it sounded like gibberish as it bounced from the walls. He got a good look at the Chesnaught, whose shell plating was almost completely scorched and most of their fur was either burned away or soaked with blood. The Volcarona had surely come, and like Alex feared, they had conquered his forces and brutalized his friend.

Several questions came to Vallion's mind as he approached the two pokemon, but only one of them left his mouth. "Where is she?"

Reinhardt turned to glare deeper into the cave. "She's farther in. We already unlocked the cell, but she refused to move until you arrived. Now it'll be much harder for you to get off this hill alive." He let loose a tired chuckle that acted more like a sigh. "I hate to admit it, but I think I've finally found someone more stubborn than me."

"You'll have to sneak away once the fighting starts," Alexander added. "There's no staying down here. This cave's sturdy, but I doubt it'll survive through what's about to happen above ground. Either way, they're after me, not you. Just get out while you can."

Vallion nodded weakly before he flew into the darkness. He really didn't have much left in him. Merely walking was just as difficult as running used to be, and the suffocating air down here certainly wasn't helping that fact. He leaned against the side of the cave for support, the sharp walls scraping what was left of his scales. His eyes had barely adjusted enough to see the faint outline of a cell, its wooden bars swinging freely on its hinges. Then...

"Panne!" he somehow found the power to gasp out her name. His shout reverberated off the walls and bounced all the way behind him. The Fennekin laid in a tight ball, but her ears sprung up at the sound of his voice. She twisted her head in disbelief, almost as if she didn't truly believe he arrived. Vallion didn't wait any longer, hobbling over into the cell and scooping her up into his trembling arms. Her fur was matted and filthy, but he had never smelled anything so inviting in his life. She coughed and sobbed, but pressed into him like her life depended on it. He didn't even mind how much it hurt.

The first noise Panne managed to make was a series of tearful whimpers. She nuzzled her forehead into his neck and cried, unable to form the words her tongue wanted to. He didn't need to hear them. Still, she tried as hard as she could to form the sentence that was stuck at the bottom of her throat. Eventually, after enough squeezing and crying, Panne managed to speak. "Val...I missed you..."

"God, I missed you too," he replied, nearly passing out at the end. As much as he wanted this moment to last forever, he had to pull away and slump down against the wall. His lungs heaved for air in this stuffy, claustrophobic chamber, and if he didn't give himself room to breathe, there was no getting back up.

Panne was an absolute mess. Her coat was all torn and bloody, and she was covered with a dozen of parallel gashes. Alexander's blades, for sure. The Snivy motioned his hand tenderly over a slash on the side of her head. She winced away at first, but pressed back into him in the following second. She was going to need something to stop infection, and real soon. How long ago did he call the Society? Eight hours? Ten? How long did they have until help arrived? It better be soon. He was going to bite Dedenne's head off if they showed up even a minute late.

The Fennekin gave him a warm smile. She must have read the look on his face. "I'll be okay," Panne whispered. Her voice was normally so sweet, but now it was rugged and hoarse like she'd done nothing but scream for the past twelve hours. Still, she placed a delicate paw against his face and wiped away some of the mud. His heart nearly jumped into his throat. "You're so dirty...Dummy. Didn't even bother washing up before you came to save me. Knights are supposed to be shiny and stuff, and you're not shiny at all. At least you're pretty brave, though."

A commanding shout echoed through the cave. Alexander boomed from the mouth of the cavern, probably giving his remaining troops some last words of encouragement before the final confrontation. Vallion listened closely, but the Serperior remained as resolute as ever. Yet even if they had all the Awakening emeras in the world, there was no winning this battle. It was something like forty-to-one out there, and both the Volcarona were present. It was going to be a slaughter.

"Hey," Panne's tiny voice managed to grab all of the Snivy's attention at once. "There's a bunch of fighting going on up there, isn't there?"

"Yeah, there is," he whispered back, resisting the urge to cough up even more of his empty stomach. "We gotta get out of here. The cave's probably gonna go down once the real fight starts." When Alex's speech ended, it was like a void opened up and swallowed all sound. The only thing in the nothingness was their own ragged breathing. "I just wanna go home."

Panne chuckled softly and hummed. "I don't even know what time it is, but I'm starving. You better have lunch for me when we get out of this."

The two leaned on one another in the dim flickering light. They really had to go, but...he didn't want to move. His tired heart was too busy thumping away, excited at just the fact that Panne was next to him. It was stupid as hell. Even after all this running and suffering and pain, he was still getting flustered about something like this? Vallion cursed to himself, then tilted his head to lean on hers. She returned the gesture, her big ear folding over the back of his head as she got comfy.

I love you, he mouthed. He couldn't put any voice into it, but he could easily make the motions of saying it, and it filled him with absolute bliss. I love you, I love you.

The cave suddenly filled with violent vibrations. Bits of dust and tiny rocks fell on their heads, and there was a vague cracking sound nearby. No time left. They quickly pulled apart, but her warmth stayed with him. "Let's get moving."

Panne only managed to take a single step before she cried out in pain and fell to a kneel. Even with Vallion supporting her, she couldn't seem to move forward.

"I-Agh! Crap!" she barely put any pressure down on her leg. "I forgot, it's totally busted! I haven't even walked since I got put in here!"

His heart skipped a beat. "Here, I'll balance you. It won't be far." The Snivy rotated over to her left side and started the process over. It was awkward trying to find a good way to support her without any vines, but anything was good enough. He could already hear the fighting outside, dull bangs and shouts that echoed through the cave like a hollow memory. They began to crawl forward, one inch at a time until their movements started to harmonize. It hurt like hell, and he could tell that she was hurting, too. It really wasn't much farther!

Another shockwave hit, toppling them over. The cave crackled threateningly around them. Vallion was practically carrying Panne along on his shoulder by now, dragging himself along the ground while she pushed forward. The scone holding the torch toppled over and left them in total blackness. He could hear the roar of an inferno as it spread across the hilltop like a blanket. One more boom, larger rocks started to crumble off the walls. More shouting. There was always shouting. Panne's breath spread across the back of his neck, reassuring him that there was still hope. Inch by inch, step by step. Tears ran down his face and mixed with the dust, but he didn't have the limbs available to wipe it away.

He saw the exit. A cool morning breeze seeped down into the cave, brushing past his face and cooling him down. The light got closer and closer until he could smell the smoke in the air. They picked up the pace of their labored walk until they finally pressed through the leaves of the ferns. The sun was excruciatingly bright, but it was so good to be free that he didn't care. Vallion set Panne down against a boulder and began to wipe at the loose soil that had gotten in his eyes. A feeling of triumph washed over him, indescribable with just his exhausted thoughts. He wanted to turn to the sky and scream, but his blood ran cold when a tremendous cheer opened up from afar, beating him to the punch. Panne nudged at his shoulder and told him to look. He opened his eyes to a disaster.

Alexander's serpentine body was pressed into the dirt by the feet of two Poliwrath-beaten and bloody, but not nearly in as bad of a shape as the Serperior. They stomped on Alex's neck, and the cheering rose up again. Reinhardt was crying for them to show mercy to his partner, but the Chesnaught was held down and ignored. Flying types circled in a hypnotizing flock above the scene, screeching together in utter victory. At the center of the circle were the two Volcarona, who flapped their mighty wings together in a cyclone of smoke and cinders. Behind it all, the forest burned.

"The pretender is no more!" hollered the tallest Poliwrath as every wildling in the next mile responded with a cry. "This land is ours! This land is free! To hell with the false king!" they decreed before delivering another swift kick to the back of Alexander's head.

"Stop!" Vallion shouted at the top of his lungs. Most of the pokemon didn't notice, but the Poliwrath did. They turned to him with looks of contempt and sneered, grinding their heels into the Serperior's back. He couldn't help himself. "He's finished, can't you tell?! Leave him alone already! You have your home back!"

The shorter Poliwrath bellowed with laughter. "Well, if it isn't the cowardly Snivy. What are you doing up here? Didn't you run off while the rest of us fought, even after we gave you our precious supplies? Who are you to be telling us what to do? If it weren't for you bring the Larvesta to us, I'd have already come up there and beat you down!"

"He's not a coward!" Panne screamed back, tears welling up in her eyes. "He came here to save me! You're the ones killing each other over some stupid forest, anyway!"

"Bah! These rescue teams, they have no honor! They just take the money from those they save and run off to their little towns, hollering about heroes and justice!" The tall Poliwrath scoffed, holding his arms out to the soldiers around him. The crowd agreed with a round of thunderous jeers. "You don't know what it's like to really fight, do you? I don't mean those little scuffles you get into, I mean real war! You kids have no idea why we fought today, and you never will!"

Alexander was barely alive, twitching on the ground like a slain beast. There was a fellow human, dying, bleeding out at the cruel hands of these beasts. "Please," Vallion said as he crossed his chest with his two worthless hands. Words were all he had now. It was all he was worth. "Please, just let him go. You'll never see him again, I can promise you that! It'll be the same either way! He'll have the live with his defeat, the same as anyone! Just stop!"

There was a certain kind of hate that each and every wildling suddenly glanced at the Snivy with. He felt every pair of eyes, bearing down on him like the weight of a mountain, tearing holes straight through his flesh. He was dead where he stood.

"You idiot! Why should we let him get away?" the short Poliwrath made his voice heard over the rest of them. "Better yet, why should we let you get away? What's with you, siding with this despicable creature after the fight's already lost! How can the Society even be this stupid? I thought those civilized folk were supposed to be the smartest bunch around, but I guess I was wrong!"

"Shut up," said the tall Poliwrath, bending over to examine what was left of the Serperior's body. "Don't be making even more enemies or you'll be the idiot! Just because these two brats screwed with us doesn't mean we want the entire guild to come down on our heads! If they wanna throw a fit over this, that's fine, but this don't involve them!" They reached down and ripped the golden emera brace straight off of Alexander's neck. The clasp shattered, its fragments shining in the sun as they disappeared in the blackened grass below. It was more than just disarming him-he had lost his crown.

Vallion felt guiltier than he's ever felt. He pressed himself into Panne, searching for any kind of comfort he could get, but it only made him feel worse. They could have sneaked away by now under the cover of chaos, but instead he chose to open his mouth. Now he and Panne were both going to die AND Alexander was still doomed. There was so much hardship that lead up to this very moment, and he had wasted all of it. He didn't deserve Panne's love. He had killed them both.

"Pathetic," the tall Poliwrath muttered, closely examining the emera brace in the sunlight. It was then that Vallion noticed something very, very important. Three emeras remained. Alexander had originally had tore away Clairvoyance and placed Status Immunity in its place. Barrage and Bulldozer were still there, and the Awakening would have disintegrated a long time ago. The Snivy had forgotten until now that there was a fourth emera which he could never identify. Now, that the same unknown emera was now just a swirl of glittering dust, floating away on the smoke-filled wind.

Alexander's final defense was a Toughness emera.

Nobody else noticed when the Serperior started to writhe. The crowd was too busy celebrating their bloody victory, and the Poliwrath were bickering with one another over what to do with Reinhardt. Alexander lethargically lifted his head, glared at the horrible gathering that surrounded him, then began to rise. It took well over a few moments for everyone to notice, and when they did, the abuse rose to deafening volumes.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you to STAY DOWN?" the shorter Poliwrath kicked Alexander in the back. The Serperior shuddered, but didn't fall over. There was a frightening look in his eyes, something so wild and furious that it was completely unlike his oppressive gaze. Vallion felt the same way looking into those eyes as he did when he first saw Dark Matter. It was the end of the world.

"...You beasts," Alexander rasped, blood spilling out the side of his mouth. He got louder, and louder, and louder. "You beasts! YOU BEASTS! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE! **RELEASE REINHARDT, OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!**"

The Chesnaught's expression sunk lower than the deepest ocean. "Alex, stop! It's over, we'll leave! We can still leave!" Reinhardt's words were buried beneath the crowd's voice.

Something was wrong. Vallion turned to Panne and tried to pick her up, but it was like his muscles were frozen over. There wasn't an ounce left of strength in his entire body. He'd used it all just getting here. "Panne, we have to go! Please!"

"Oh, still think you got some fight in you?" The tall Poliwrath laughed and laughed. "Really? Come on, then! Entertain us with a last stand if you're so mad! Let me crush your spine one last time! I'll even let you have the first strike!"

The Serperior shook with rage, but he'd gone silent. The world seemed to slow down before Vallion's very eyes. Everyone's mouth contorted into ugly shapes, but he couldn't hear the shouting. Even the blazing forest was reduced to a gentle white noise. He heard his heartbeat above all else, thumping in his eardrums, rhythmic and rapid. Reinhardt continued to struggle. The Poliwrath taunted and stuck out their chests. The Volcarona spiraled together in a growing tornado of flame. But Alex-Alex was looking up at Vallion. The humanity in him was dead. This was a pokemon, raw and primal, and he wasn't finished yet.

Two crooked vines, broken and limp, somehow managed to pierce the earth and buried themselves deep in the soil. Alexander started to spasm uncontrollably, a breathless scream inaudibly spilling from his mouth. His worthless vines began to pulsate in a sickening way, growing thicker and more gnarled by the second. The convulsions that shook his body caused his wounds to open up even further, but it didn't seem like he could feel them at all. The ground began to shake. The soil started to upturn near the Serperior's tail, his vines spreading outwards like thorny roots. In his death throes, Alexander had summoned the desperate power of Overgrow.

It was already too late. Vallion ripped the seed back from his side and frantically searched through its contents. Four seconds passed, the Snivy ripped his single reviver seed from the bag and tossed the whole thing away. Then, he shoved the seed into his cheek and stepped directly in front of Panne, shielding her from what was to come next. As deafened as he was, he could still hear her call out his name. It was such a wonderful sound. He loved to hear it, even in times like this.

The shorter Poliwrath took a step back, wound up a massive hay-maker, and clocked Alexander straight in the jaw. The Serperior barely buckled, unable to even feel the the impact. A massive black vine reached up from beneath the earth and tore into the Poliwrath in seconds, followed by three more. Then five. Dirt launched up into the sky like a geyser of stone and soil as a terrible quake shook the entire hill. Eight of the vines spiraled into the air and twisted their way into the flock. Dozens and dozens more began to surge through the earth, ripping up everything in their wake in a massive wave. Vallion clamped his teeth down on the seed, pressed his back into Panne, and braced himself. He screamed, but there was no regret. Nothing would touch her.

The Fennekin slipped around him. A flash of yellow appeared before the tsunami of thorns, right in front of him. For a split second, he felt nothing but incomprehensible despair.

Then there was nothing.

...

* * *

It was emptiness, true and pure. No thoughts, no comprehension of what was happening or where gravity was. Just a certain blackness from every possible direction and dimension. Even in this sedated state, Vallion felt worried. He had no idea why, but an untouchable anxiousness had shook him down to his core, and it felt like the only thing this dark place had to offer. Was this death? No, he was still alive. He could feel the ground beneath him, if only just the numb, spiky feeling. This wasn't like what happened when Yveltal turned him to stone.

...Panne!

The Snivy's eyes shot open. He saw smoke and dust blot out the blue skies in horrible streaking clouds. He was beneath a bed of brambles, and it was stabbing him all over. Vallion tried to push his way out, slowly working through the spiky mess as the rest of his thoughts caught up. He looked to his right and stopped. There was a mound of yellow fur which was now red.

"Panne!" Vallion called out, ripping at the vines that strangled her instead. His hands got torn up beyond belief, but no amount of blood that spilled out of him could compare to the puddle the Fennekin had been laying in. Oh god, there was so much. There was so, so much. "No, no no no. No..."

Her chest was the source. The fur there was gone completely, ripped away along with the skin. He could see her bones. The air grew deathly cold as Vallion's mind went blank. He tried to stay calm, to think of what to do. Bandage, cloth, anything on earth that could stop the bleeding. He saw the sack the Poliwrath had given him to hold the blast seeds. It was completely torn up and destroyed. He emptied the rest of its ruined contents and shoved the burlap onto Panne's chest. The instant the cloth touched her body, it was almost completely stained red.

"No. God, no." Vallion began to tear off the bandaging that protected the slash wounds on his side. The gauze acted the same as the cloth and turned a deep crimson. He couldn't breathe anymore. The air was too heavy, like it was full of iron and sat at the bottom of his lungs. How? How? What was he supposed to do?

His mouth was empty! The reviver seed had fallen out at some point during the impact! Vallion dove away and instantly began to dig through the blanket of vines. It felt like there were hundreds upon hundreds of blast seeds to sort through, each one tossed away haphazardly as he moved on to the next. Useless. Useless. Useless. Useless! Useless! Useless? There was a smaller seed, still covered in saliva from when it had left its mouth. Its shell was cracked slightly from the pressure he'd applied while he braced for the vines. This was it!

He crawled back over to the red Fennekin, trembling so badly that it felt like the earthquake never ended. Her mouth was already slightly ajar, so he opened it further. She wasn't breathing at all. Vallion didn't want to believe it. He just placed the seed into the back of her mouth and started to move her jaw, crunching the seed up so that it fell into her throat. Their blood started to mix, and it smeared everywhere. The Snivy started to lose his vision, only realizing after a few moments that it was tears clouding his eyes.

All that was left was to wait. He stared for a minute longer, felt his spine start to shudder and crack, and let loose a massive wail to the cruel sky. The blood wouldn't stop coming. It just wouldn't stop. There wasn't anything he could do and the blood just kept coming. He choked on his own spit, whispered her name, and howled in agony once more. The howl became a sob that wracked his entire body like a bolt of lightning. He screamed at the heavens, pleading and praying. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. He knew that this wasn't how this was supposed to end! **HE KNEW! HE KNEW!**

"V...aal..." An angel answered back. Vallion went silent. He wiped at his eyes, blinked away the tears and blood, and looked down at his love. Panne stared up at him, her gaze still so far away, but aimed at him regardless. Every tiny, fragile breath that left her throat made her broken chest rise and fall so slightly. The Snivy touched the side of her face and caressed her cheek. "Va-al..." she mouthed it more than anything.

"Panne, please. Stay with me," his own voice didn't even sound like him anymore. "I don't want to lose you again. Just stay awake. Keep listening to my voice and stay awake. W-we're going home."

She looked past him, her eyes losing their focus. The thread she was hanging on was tearing. She forced her last words into existence. "I...I love you."

Something inside of Vallion came undone. The world became ice, and all the light in the universe went out. There was nothing left after this. The constellations in the sky would disappear, and the night would be empty. He shook his head. "You don't need to say that yet! When we patch you up and get home, then you can say it! Yo-you can say it all you want! And...and I'll say it, too! I'll say it so much that you'll get sick of hearing it! And we'll-"

"I love you," she repeated herself. Vallion pressed the cloth and gauze tighter against her chest, hoping with every fiber of his being that it was working. Why couldn't it have been him laying there? Why did it have to be her?

"Stop that! Ampharos is going to be here soon! Just stay awake! Please, just stay awake! I-I don't want to lose you again. You know I can't live without you! God dammit, we've already been through this! You promised to never leave again! You promised!" The taste of salt mixed with blood. He didn't like that time was passing. He wanted it to stop. "Please, don't-! You're scaring me! Please!"

I love you. Panne repeated that phrase, over and over. She said it every time she exhaled, which wasn't very often at all. It reminded him that she was still alive. Even in her own surreal world between consciousness and death, Panne was absolutely certain that Vallion was there with her. That phrase was why she jumped in front of him at the last second. It's why they traveled through time together and got put into these bodies. They were always together. They always were.

Eventually Vallion just started to repeat the expression back at her as he laid over the top of her body, applying pressure with his own weight. Back and forth, back and forth. Over and over. Again and again. I love you. I love you, too.

Soon, neither of them had left the energy to do even that. Vallion had ran out of tears a long time ago. He just placed his forehead against hers, and he waited. He listened to every shallow breath she took, dreading every millisecond of space between the next. At some point, they were going to stop. There were other sounds, too. The obliterated hill was full of sounds, of pain and mourning and death. None were as loud as Panne, and nothing in the universe was as important. So long as the Fennekin's exhausted little lungs kept inflating, the world continued to spin. He didn't want to move. He didn't want it. Please. Let this moment last for all eternity.

"Vallion?!" Jirachi called out over the distance.


	8. Courage That Doesn't Matter Without Her

Vallion had never heard the compound so quiet. He scurried out of the kitchen and into the dark halls, his feet tapping against the ceramic floor as he hurried back to his room. In his hands was a bowl filled with fresh soup, held carefully so as to keep a towel between him and the burning-hot wood. After nearly falling over twice, losing just a few drops in the process, the Snivy hurried into the main chamber of the building and into the next hall over. While the soup smelled delicious, it was kinda difficult to see through the steam that wafted up into his face. Whatever, he didn't even need to see. There was pretty much nobody here to crash into.

A gust of wind blasted against a window as he passed by, spraying a violent pattering of rain into the glass. He never minded storms much. They were kinda soothing in a negative sort of way. Just being inside all dry and warm while the rain came down around them was nice. Panne never liked it, though. Rain reminded her of being wet, and she hated that most of all. The wind just made her wet from different angles for all she cared.

He saw the dim light that poured out from the corners of his room before he saw the doorway. With dinner tucked tight against his chest, Vallion peeked around the dividing curtain and adjusted to the candlelight. Panne sat against the side of the window and stared longingly out into the storm, a contemplative look on her face. She looked uncomfortable with all the bandages and casts on her body, especially the one on her chest. Not only was she down a leg, but she could barely move even her arms with that thing on. As much as he hated seeing her so restrained, it was better than the alternative.

When Panne noticed the Snivy was standing there in the reflection of the window, her entire face brightened and her ears shot up. Whenever he wasn't looking, though, she looked as gloomy as before.

"Hi," Vallion whispered, trying his best to hide the concern in his voice. "I brought dinner. It took a little while to make, though. There's really not much in the pantry, and it's really hard to cook when Swirlix isn't here to magically pull out the ingredients."

She raised her nose to sniff at the air, ears folding back. It must have apparently smelled good, because she immediately hummed in approval. "Geez, that smells so good! I thought you said this was supposed to be a soup that would help me heal? Medicine is supposed to taste gross! That's not medicine at all!"

"Well I mean, It's just a vegetable soup, honestly. There's mostly carrots and stuff in the broth, but I managed to find two energy seeds to crush in," Vallion let his eyes fall to the floor, trying not to blush. "I, uh, hope it tastes as good as it smells. I'm usually not very good at cooking. Especially with recipes and stuff."

She pushed away from the wall and laid towards him. Her face twitched a bit, so the motion must have hurt somehow. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm the judge here, and I'm gonna dock you points if I gotta taste that soup when it's cold! Hurry, there's gonna be ice cubes floating around in it if you keep waiting around!"

"Panne, come on. It's basically on fire. I'd probably die if I tried to drink it now." Vallion sighed as he placed the bowl down onto the floor, swinging his hands through the air to cool them back down. "You can have a sip, alright? Tell me how it is."

The Fennekin immediately went in for the soup, oblivious to the fact that it was on a stove not two minutes ago. The simple sip turned into a whole gulp, and then three more greedy swigs. A few giggles poured from her mouth as she lifted her head to breathe. "Not very good at cooking?! Are you kidding me? I've never tasted anything this good out of Swirlix's cooking! You should just become the head cook instead!" Panne went down into the soup again, smiling from ear to ear. Vallion didn't really have the heart to stop her, so he just let her go to town for a little while and glanced out the window.

Rain streaked down the glass in a dozen little strikes of lightning, shifting and twisting around as new drops splat against the pane. It hadn't even been a week since they got back, but he was still so glad to be here. He missed the way this place smelled, and how nice and warm it was. He missed Panne most of all, even if she was right here next to him. All she's done since they came home was lay down and stare out the window. She didn't want him to see how down she felt, but he knew. It wasn't hard to tell.

As Vallion turned back, Panne's whole face was buried behind the rim of the bowl. She literally drank down that entire bowl in the time it took him to look out a window. That was supposed to be for the both of them to share.

"Oh," he muttered, a hand over his empty stomach.

"Hm?" She poked her head up and glanced back at him. "What's up?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Vallion just shrugged and leaned back against the trunk. "I was going to wait for it to cool down so that I could have some. I guess you kinda haven't eaten all day, though. I'll probably just go make some more."

The Fennekin turned to the empty bowl and frowned, her ears twisted backwards. Realization set in on her face. "Oh. I didn't realize I was eating all of it...I'm really sorry. I thought- Well, I guess I wasn't really thinking at all. Sorry."

"No, no! It's fine! I promise. I probably should have made more, anyway."

Panne laid her head down onto the floor. "You only brought one bowl. I should have just assumed..."

"Hey. Don't sweat it, alright? It's not your fault." Vallion hopped to his feet and started towards the exit before she could find more reasons to feel guilty. "All the ingredients are still out. I can just go make some more and come back. I'll be right back, okay? I promise it's not a big deal."

He pushed through the curtain and immediately smacked himself on the head as soon as he was out of sight. Of course she ate it all, she hasn't eaten all day! Why'd you only make one serving, idiot? It wasn't that he was particularly upset about not getting his share. It's that Panne was. Maybe he just shouldn't have said anything at all and went hungry.

A tiny noise stopped the Snivy in his tracks. That really better be his mind playing tricks on him, because if it wasn't...He held his breath for five seconds, then ten, all up until he heard the sound a second time. A gentle sob came from inside of his room. It was barely audible beneath the raging storm outside, but it shook Vallion straight down to his core nonetheless. He tiptoed backwards and peered into the doorway, his heart wrenching in his chest as the sobs got worse. Panne had knelt down with her head buried beneath her front legs, quivering with uncontrollable emotion, her fur doing nothing to suppress the coughing cries that crawled up her throat. An electric jolt struck him with every helpless whimper. What was he going to do? He couldn't just leave her like this!

"...Panne?" Vallion whispered to catch her attention. She didn't even look up, nor did she try to hide it.

"I'm so sorry, Val. I-I'm sorry I'm so selfish..." she managed to say between sobs. "It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

Everything that had happened over the past week spilled over in an instant. All of the quiet gloom that filled their room, and all the staring into nothing she did when he was away, exploded into the open. She was positively inconsolable.

"Panne, it's okay! I would've given you the whole bowl anyway if I had known you were that hungry! Please stop crying." Vallion rushed to her side in a flash. He went in to give her a hug, but couldn't find a good angle because of all the casts. The last thing he needed to do was make her hurt even worse.

She looked up at him with her big, sad eyes and shook her head. "I don't know how I got so selfish, Val! I really don't! I should be trying harder than I am and I'm not!"

"Hush. You're not selfish. You've never been selfish." He leaned in and wrapped his arms around her head, pulling her into his chest. His chin immediately gravitated towards the space between her ears. She was so fluffy and soft, even like this. "Come on, silly. Everything's going to be fine. I'll even make you seconds if you want some. It's no big deal at all."

"It's not _just_ the soup!"

When Panne realized she screamed right beside the Snivy's head, she pulled away and flattened herself to the floor once more. The next time she spoke, her voice was so soft that it was nearly unintelligible. "I've never been good at knowing how other people feel. Sometimes I just didn't want to care. T-that never really bothered me, but..." After a jarring pause, she leaned her whole body into him, as if unable to hold herself up any longer. "It bothers me when it's you. It bothers me so much."

It felt like Vallion was disarming a bomb. He sat motionlessly, cradling the Fennekin close to him as she shivered with misery. All he wanted was to make her feel better. "It's okay," he murmured, desperate to convince her of the fact. "I know it bothers you. It's not your fault, though. It's okay to be a little selfish. Everyone does it."

Panne sniffled loudly. "But I'm not just a little selfish! I seriously don't care about people when I get upset. I really just don't..." She turned her head and buried her face into his stomach, speaking into him like a pillow. "Like that Serperior. I really hated him. I still hate him now, but he- he didn't deserve what happened. That's the kind of thing that shouldn't happen to anybody. He was kinda evil, but now I can see how hard he was trying. Reinhardt wasn't even that bad, too! He was just helping his friend! Now they're both gone."

Vallion shut his eyes. He focused on Panne's uneven breathing, almost to the point that he couldn't even hear the rain anymore. "Dedenne never found their bodies, you know. They probably got away. Not that that's supposed to cheer you up or anything, it's just a thing."

"I really hate that guy," Panne muttered, then suddenly fell into a coughing fit. She tensed up so tightly that it nearly knocked him over by proxy, each cough wracking her torso with an unbelievable amount of pain. Vallion could only nuzzle into her head and hope with all his might that she got better. After the fit followed several moments of ragged breathing, her tears dripping down his scales and onto the floor. She continued what she was saying through gritted teeth. "He sucks. I sucked, too, though. I still suck. Nothing's changed."

"You don't suck! Most of the time you're even more considerate and kind than I am." Vallion didn't even care about how her cast jabbed into his sore ribs, he just hugged her harder. "I bet a lot of people think so, too. You're always the first one to want to help others, and you don't even have to think about it. You just do it. You even...you jumped in front of the Frenzy Plant for me."

The Fennekin's voice cracked, a fresh wave of tears rising to the surface. "But that one's the worst of all! I got so scared when you stood in front of me, I didn't even know what to do! The attack started coming and- and I knew you were about to get hurt, so I just- I didn't want that. I don't want you to get hurt at all..." She pressed her face deeper into his chest and moaned.

All this pushing was apparently too much for Vallion hold up anymore. He tumbled backwards onto the floor, with Panne following shortly after. She laid on top of him as another sob wracked her entire body. While his injuries vehemently protested against the new position, Vallion ignored them and pulled her up higher onto his torso.

"How is that selfish?" The Snivy said, slowly ruffling the fur on the back of her head. "Silly, that's the opposite! You almost sacrificed yourself for me! That's the least selfish thing anyone can ever do. And besides, we're both safe now. Its all over."

Her heavy sighs washed over the scales of his shoulder. "I almost died. I was almost gone forever. You would have been alone again and there would have been no way to bring me back. I jumped because I didn't want to see you get hurt, but I almost..."

"Panne." He stopped petting her. As much as he tried to keep it down, that sickening memory rose to the top of his thoughts. He could still see her, bleeding out in a bed of thorns, all the life drained from her narrowed eyes. The vision wouldn't go away.

"I promised I would never leave you again!" she cried, nearly sputtering on her own saliva. "When I left Mew, I said that. I never wanted to make you go through that ever again! But I got selfish and I almost broke the promise!"

He could feel the sticky blood beneath him still, coating his belly and chest. It was all hers, and it was cold now. Even with Panne right on top of him, he could still feel that dread set in. It was cold and hollow and it made him feel sick to his stomach. When was she gonna take her last breath? When was everything going to end?

She kept going. "Why won't you get mad at me? Why won't you yell at me for being so inconsiderate? It's what I deserve! I'm always holding you back and getting hurt and messing up all the time! I don't even think about what you want! Why don't you hate me?!"

"Stop!" Vallion shouted. Everything went silent except for the sound of his own sobs. He was shaking bad now, grasping at Panne's fur as if she'd suddenly disappear the instant he let go. "Please, stop. Please. I don't know what to do, I..."

A disappointed hum rumbled in the Fennekin's throat. She shrunk down a little more. "I'm hurting you right now, aren't I? All I end up doing is making you feel worse. I should just stop."

"I love you!" It burst out of Vallion's mouth without warning. It wasn't nearly as hard to say as he had thought. "I love you. I love you so much. I'm never going to get mad at you. I'm never, ever going to hate you. I need you so, so bad, and I love you exactly the way you are."

A tiny choke fell from her mouth. Panne looked up at him with puffy eyes, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. They stayed like that for a little while, just looking at each other through all the blurry tears. She finally broke the moment with a long sigh, then stuck both of her front paws underneath his back in a loose little embrace.

"I...I love you, too. I didn't mean to go off like that. I'm sorry."

Vallion pulled her up even higher until she could fit in the crook of his neck. The panic died down, his heartbeat gradually returned to normal, and the horrid memories faded into the background and disappeared. It was scary before, but now he could actually, really believe that she was safe. He caressed her cheek with the side of his hand, wiping away at all the tears that had soaked into her face. "I like you. You're cute."

"Eh-! D-don't say stupid stuff like that! We were crying like just a minute ago! Not cool!" Panne kneaded her paws into his back, causing him to squirm underneath her weight while giggling madly. Once she was satisfied with his punishment, the Fennekin huffed from her nose and shifted into a more comfortable position. "Hm. I guess I should remake that promise or something. I already broke it, anyways."

Everything was tingling like his blood was full of cotton candy. He could barely even feel his injuries anymore, even when he tried. "What? You didn't break the promise at all. You're still here, very much not dead or gone."

"No way, I was totally dead for a second there. Even if it was just for a moment, that still means I left you alone." Panne clicked her tongue, a smile stuck on her cheeks. "Yep. Gotta remake that promise. I don't have any Harmony Scarves or anything to make it on, though, so we need to get creative."

Vallion hummed inquisitively. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She lifted her head from his neck and craned over him, their noses centimeters away from touching. It took Vallion a second to realize how close she really was, his heart skipping one or two beats. He felt her warm breath blow over his face as she spoke. "I dunno. We can't just _say_ we've made a promise, though. There needs to be some kinda _gesture_ or something associated with it. You wouldn't happen to know something we could do to make that promise real, would you?"

It was very, very difficult to pay attention. The Snivy started to glance around the room, a bright-red spreading across his face faster than a wildfire. Part of him wanted to wiggle away and hide, as if this was just one of the shameful fantasies he'd been pushing away from his mind for weeks now. But he loved it so bad. He loved her playful little smirk, and how her teasing eyes hungrily lapped up all of his embarrassment. He loved the anxiousness that swirled in his chest and rose up into his throat and made him want to whine. It was absolutely addictive, worse than any drug or habit.

"I don't know," he finally responded, trying not to shiver with excitement. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"Really? You don't know?" her voice seemed to grin as much as she did. Their noses touched together, but just barely. "You just confessed your love to someone and you don't even know what to do next? I mean, I know you were always kinda awkward socially, but that's just silly! Do you need me to spell it out for you?"

"Grraah! You're making this so hard!" Vallion groaned and threw his head back to the floor. She fell into a fit of giggling at the base of his neck, the vibration leaving a bubbly feeling in his heart that made him want to curl up around her. He knew this part was going to be hard, and unlike saying that he loved her, it was actually even worse than he imagined. He didn't even know how to kiss anyone! He had no idea what it was like, or what to do, or how to even start a kiss! The Snivy listened to the rain beat against the window, his thoughts fizzling out into wordless emotion every other second. She could probably hear his heartbeat from down there, couldn't she? She knew exactly how flustered he was from that alone.

"I love you, too," Panne whispered once more. The phrase entered in from the scales on his neck and spread throughout his body like electricity. He didn't move a muscle, but he could have ran a marathon on that energy if he wanted. "God, you're such a dummy! How did you not know figure that out earlier? When you were having trouble sleeping at Sunrise Pass, did you think me coming over there was just out of the kindness of my heart? No way! I just wanted a reason to snuggle with you! I'm selfish, remember?"

Vallion raised his head again. She instantly motioned to put their noses back together, as if urging him to take the plunge. He gasped a little, but spoke up anyway. "Then never stop being selfish, okay? I don't want this to ever stop. I want to be with you forever."

"Geez, you're so cheesy," she accused as her ears fidgeted up and down against her will. The taste of her breath sending his stomach into nervous flips. "Okay, fine! Silly! Dummy! Quit looking at me so...so...I bet you don't even know how to kiss!"

"Do you?"

"Shush! Just hurry up before I get all jumpy!"

She was scared, too. Vallion inched his mouth forward, drawing a gasp from her lips without even touching them. He fought the urge to giggle as he finally closed the distance between the two of them. It was more awkward than he thought it would be. Their necks twisted in strange directions as they searched for the correct place for their maws to fit. Teeth clashed softly, shy tongues met in the darkness, and after a lot of mistakes, they finally started to learn the contours of one another. He didn't feel so nervous anymore. It was supposed to be the scariest thing imaginable, even worse than ghosts and demons, but he felt totally at peace. This was where he belonged.

Eventually they even started to get better. Panne would make tiny squeaks of surprise whenever he did something right, and it was the cutest thing on the planet. They huffed and puffed through their noses just to keep their lips together for as long as possible. Their mouths didn't quite fit together perfectly, either, so their saliva got everywhere as a result. He really didn't mind it much. Everything was already so perfect that he couldn't find any reasons to complain at all. He loved the soft texture of her tongue and the jagged canines that caught on his. He loved the way she pushed into him for more, even when she had to crane her neck to do so. He loved her. He loved her so bad.

Still, all good things must come to an end. When the both of them finally ran out of breath, they pulled apart and sighed together. As it turned out, kissing was very messy and very, very tiring. So tiring that they had to hold each other very close for support-so close that the Snivy had finally pulled her all the way up the length of his body and rested his cheek on the side of her head. Panne nuzzled into him like her life depended on it, resulting in a lot of unintended aches and jabs that neither of them really cared enough to notice. He didn't know how long they stayed like that. Minutes were passing, but they weren't very important.

"Your stomach's growling," Panne finally broke the wordless trance with a whisper right next to his ear.

"Huh?" was all Vallion managed to utter before he suddenly felt a gnawing hunger that had apparently been there the whole time. A terrible roar came from inside his belly and lasted for several seconds at least. "O-oh. I guess it is."

She hummed happily and poked at his stomach with a paw. "I'm still sorry I ate all of your dinner. Let's go back to Plan A. We'll head over to the kitchen together and make you something, alright? How's that sound?"

"Yeah, I- We?" Vallion blew a raspberry. "What do you mean 'We'? You can barely stand, you doofus. You're supposed to be resting as much as possibly so that your bones heal right! What makes you think I'm gonna let you hobble all the way across the compound, hm?"

Panne scoffed and bopped him on the nose. "Either you help me get to the kitchen so that we can make dinner together, or I'm going to crawl all the way over there myself and make a huge mess! No excuses!"

"But- but I'd-"

She covered his mouth with a paw. "No. Excuses. You told me to be selfish, remember? So I'm gonna go selfishly make you some food!" The Fennekin tumbled off of him and attempted to get to her feet in the same motion. It didn't work out so well. She would have fallen over if Vallion wasn't already right there to catch her. She grinned triumphantly and gave him a lick on the nose. "See? You get to be my fourth leg for a while! Now let's get moving!"

For as much as he wanted to scold her, he couldn't help but find himself adjusting his position to support her better as she started walking. The first few feet were a wobbly mess, but by the time they passed under the curtain and into the hall, there was a certain harmony to the way they stumbled along. It was a needlessly painful and difficult march, yet Panne somehow managed to put a slight spring in her step. Even when they had to stop in the middle of the floor to catch their breath, she looked up to him with a lively gleam in her eyes. Vallion watched as her ears perked up and twitched-the unmistakable sign that all was well.

**FIN**


End file.
